Burning Questions For the 2025-26 Season: William Eklund

With the 2025-26 season now in sight, the plan is to address the burning questions surrounding every player on the roster (or competing for a roster spot). These questions are focused on how the player is expected to contribute to the Sharks this season and what their role will be.

William Eklund
5'11" 185lbs
23 years old (start of season)
2021 1st round pick

Last Season

77 games, 17 goals, 41 assists, 19:33 TOI

William Eklund established himself as a top-six forward who can play in all situations. Eklund led the team at 5v5 ice time, was 3rd in power play ice time, and was a major contributor on the penalty kill. He was one of two players (Tyler Toffoli, the other) to have a positive Corsi at 5v5. San Jose as a team gave up 711 more shot attempts than they attempted last season. Eklund showed that when he was on the ice, positive things happened for the Sharks.

He was rewarded with a new contract extension this offseason in his first year of eligibility. Eklund signed a three-year deal worth $5.6 million AAV that will kick in during the 2026-27 season.

Burning Question

Is more production coming?

While having good Corsi and playing a ton of minutes are great, you don't draft a player 7th overall for fancy stats. Eklund has done an excellent job of driving play, but seeing the counting stats take a jump would be massive. Over the past two seasons, he's gone from 45 - 58 points on the worst scoring team in the NHL. The Sharks' offense should take another step this season with its young core continuing to grow. If we are expecting Macklin Celebrini to be a point-per-game player, it's fair to expect Eklund to be in the same ballpark in his third season.

While Eklund's bread and butter will be his playmaking, getting over the 20-goal mark should be the standard for him now. He's scored 16 and 17 goals the past two seasons and saw his shots on goal increase from 128 to 151. As the Sharks' offense continues to improve, pushing towards 200 SOG should be the goal for Eklund, and that will put him around the 20-goal mark.

With better players around him, his assist total will probably be pushing towards 50 to 60 assists in a season, especially if Celebrini is pushing towards 40 goals in any given season. The foundation is in place for Eklund to be a 70+ point player every year; now it's time to deliver.

Expectations

William Eklund becomes the player that Sharks fans envisioned way back in 2021 when this whole rebuild started. A dynamic two-way forward who drives play, works hard every shift, and becomes a leader on and off the ice. He is the longest tenured Sharks forward now and the 2nd longest tenured Shark behind only Mario Ferraro, don't be surprised if Eklund is sporting an A on his sweater this year as the Sharks continue to solidify their new core.