Victor Eklund is a Swedish right winger drafted 16th overall by the New York Islanders in 2025, and he went into 2026-27 training camp competing for a place on the NHL roster. He won World Junior gold with Sweden in January 2026, scored 24 points as an SHL rookie with Djurgårdens IF, and picked up an assist on Bo Horvat’s 300th career goal in his NHL debut in April 2026. He is the younger brother of Ottawa Senators forward William Eklund.
| Fast facts: Victor Eklund | |
|---|---|
| Current team | New York Islanders. AHL affiliate: Hamilton Hammers |
| Position | Right wing, also plays the left |
| Shoots | Right |
| Born | 3 October 2006, Stockholm, Sweden |
| Height / weight | 5’11” (180 cm) / 170 lbs, per the Islanders |
| Drafted | 2025, first round, 16th overall, New York Islanders |
| Contract status | Three-year entry-level contract signed 14 July 2025, running through 2028-29 at a $974,167 cap hit |
| Jersey | No. 73, the first Islander ever to wear it |
Where is Victor Eklund now?
As of September 2026, Victor Eklund is at Islanders rookie camp. The club named him on its 2026-27 rookie camp roster on 9 September 2026, and the rookies play the New Jersey Devils in two scrimmages before the veterans arrive for main camp: on 13 September in New Jersey and on 15 September at the Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.
Some answers online still place him in Sweden. That was true in summer 2026, when he trained with Djurgården in Stockholm alongside Anton Frondell and Viggo Bjorck.
He is one of 16 forwards with NHL experience competing for around 14 spots, against veterans including Anthony Duclair, Pierre Engvall and Ondrej Palat. If he does not make the opening-night roster, he starts the season with the Hamilton Hammers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, which moved from Bridgeport to Hamilton, Ontario for 2026-27. The channels and streams for every Islanders game are in our guide to how to watch the Islanders.
Is Victor Eklund related to William Eklund?
Yes. William Eklund is Victor Eklund’s older brother. William was drafted seventh overall by the San Jose Sharks in 2021 and traded to the Ottawa Senators on 23 June 2026 for the ninth overall pick in the 2026 draft, which San Jose used on Keaton Verhoeff.
The brothers grew up competing at everything, and Victor is honest about how it usually ended. “I always got beat up and couldn’t do so much to him,” he told NHL.com before the 2025 draft. On the ice they are different players: William is the playmaker, Victor the one who gets to the corner first.
What are Victor Eklund’s career stats?
Through 2025-26, Victor Eklund had played two professional seasons in Sweden and ten games in North America. The Islanders drafted him in 2025, fifteen picks after Matthew Schaefer.
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Djurgårdens IF | HockeyAllsvenskan | 42 | 19 | 12 | 31 |
| 2025-26 | Djurgårdens IF | SHL | 43 | 6 | 18 | 24 |
| 2025-26 | Bridgeport Islanders | AHL | 9 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| 2025-26 | New York Islanders | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Victor Eklund scored 11 points in his first ten games in North America, nine in the AHL and one in the NHL. He joined Bridgeport in late March 2026 and recorded points in six of his nine AHL games.
His 31 points in HockeyAllsvenskan in 2024-25 were the most by an 18-year-old in that league since Elias Pettersson’s 41 in 2016-17, according to NHL.com. He won the Guldgallret as the league’s best junior as Djurgården won promotion, then finished fourth in scoring among SHL rookies the following season, with 60 hits, second among rookies.
| Tournament | Result | GP | G | A | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 U18 World Championship | Bronze | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 |
| 2025 World Junior Championship | No medal | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2026 World Junior Championship | Gold | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 |
He was the youngest player on Sweden’s team at the 2025 World Juniors. A year later Sweden won the tournament for the first time since 2012.
Has Victor Eklund played in the NHL?
Yes. The Islanders called him up for the final game of the 2025-26 regular season, against the Carolina Hurricanes on 14 April 2026, and put him on the top line with Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom. He played 15:30 in a 2-1 loss, wore No. 73, and got the secondary assist on Horvat’s 300th career NHL goal.
Horvat gave him the puck. “You’ll never forget your first NHL game and let alone your first NHL point,” Horvat said. “He’s gotta have that.”
What is the scouting report on Victor Eklund?
Victor Eklund is a smallish, relentless winger who wins pucks he has no business winning. Robert Kimby, who coached him at Djurgården, gave the description that has followed him since: “Victor is like a junkyard dog. When the puck goes in the corner, he really wants to be first.”
Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer compared him to Logan Stankoven after his NHL debut, and NHL Central Scouting ranked him second among international skaters before the 2025 draft. Eklund models his game on Matthew Tkachuk.
The question mark is size, and Eklund has said himself that gaining weight is his main job. The New York Post reported in August 2026 that he had added muscle over the summer.
Is Victor Eklund NHL ready?
The people who have coached him believe so, but the Islanders have chosen not to rush him. General manager Mathieu Darche has said the aim is long NHL careers for his prospects, not quick ones.
Michael Holmqvist, an assistant coach at Djurgården, put it the other way round: “The question is not if he’s going to be able to play in the NHL. The question is how much can you get from him.”
Has Victor Eklund been traded?
No. Victor Eklund has belonged to the Islanders since they drafted him, and his entry-level contract runs through the 2028-29 season, according to PuckPedia’s contract data. The Eklund traded in June 2026 was his brother William.
Who is Victor Eklund’s father?
Victor Eklund’s father is Christian Eklund, a forward who played professionally in Sweden and Germany for close to two decades, with several spells at Djurgårdens IF. Swedish hockey knows him by his nickname, “Fimpen”: the cigarette butt.
Victor sees more of his father in himself than in his brother. “He was kind of a grinder I think, closer to me than William,” he said. “I pretty much got both.”
How old is Victor Eklund, and how tall is he?
Victor Eklund was born on 3 October 2006 in Stockholm. The Islanders list him at 5’11” (180 cm) and 170 lbs; some databases still carry an older listing of 161 lbs.
Does Victor Eklund have a girlfriend?
There is no publicly confirmed information about Victor Eklund’s relationship status. Victor Eklund keeps his personal life private.
