On Monday, the New York Islanders announced they have signed 2025 16th overall pick Victor Eklund to his three-year entry-level contract.
#Isles announce that they have signed Victor Eklund to a three-year entry-level contract.
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) July 14, 2025
No, this contract does not mean that Eklund will be playing in North America this season. He has already told us that he's going back to Sweden, and given that he's 18, he's not old enough to play for Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
He'll be playing the 2025-26 season with Djurgardens IF of the Swedish Elite League after recording 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 42 games with them last season.
Why would the Islanders sign Eklund to his ELC if he wasn't coming over?
Well, for 18 and 19-year-olds who don't play in at least 10 NHL games, their ELC slides, so the Islanders aren't burning a year on Eklund's ELC by signing him now.
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PHOTO: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
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