According to Michael Russo of the Star Tribune, the Minnesota Wild will soon recall Joel Eriksson Ek from Farjestads of the Swedish league, who were knocked out of the playoffs on Friday. As Russo explains, Eriksson Ek will burn one of his entry-level years should he play in one more game this season. The 20-year old forward played in nine matches at the beginning of the season for the Wild.
The 20th-overall pick in 2015, Eriksson Ek actually racked up five points in that NHL preview, and went on to record 16 in 26 games for his Swedish club. In seven playoff games for Farjestads he scored six points but it wasn’t enough to get by HV 71. Russo notes that though Eriksson Ek can play center, he finished the year as a left winger.
With the Wild going 2-7-1 over their last ten and losing their grip on the second seed from the Central division—Nashville and St. Louis are now just six points and seven points behind them respectively—they need to turn things around fast. Eriksson Ek should give the lineup an injection of youth, and hopefully help the team start winning again. After consecutive losses to Philadelphia, Vancouver and Detroit, the Wild are reeling as they head into their matchup with the Washington Capitals.
For Eriksson Ek, burning a year of his entry-level contract doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be making more money in the long run. Often teams choose this strategy to get a player onto their second contract with just two years of performance under their belt, as Vancouver did recently with Brock Boeser. He’ll now be on track to become an RFA in 2019-20.