After Marcus Foligno and Sam Steel, next up for the Minnesota Wild report cards is Joel Eriksson Ek. Another beloved player in the lineup, he earns every second of ice time with his gritty, nonstop play. He’s not the most physical player and he receives a number of cheap shots but he’s likely the Wild’s most composed player right behind Jared Spurgeon.
Despite all the cheap shots, he stayed in the lineup for most of the season until right before playoffs just like Mason Shaw. His loss was a huge blow to a team that needed every boost it could get. Apart from being one of their most composed players, he’s also their best two-way forward and we’ll jump right into that with his regular season performance.
Eriksson Ek’s Two-Way Play
Eriksson Ek has been one of the Wild’s top players the last few seasons and this one was no different. He gritted his way through 78 games this season and was fourth in scoring among Wild players. He was one of a few players who set new career highs this season, not in goals but in assists and points. He registered 23 goals, just three shy of his career high of 26 last season, but his 38 assists and 61 points blew away his former career highs of 23 assists and 49 points again from last season.
He’s the Wild’s best two-way player for a reason and it shows in his defensive stats. He had 55 blocked shots through the season and took the top spot for Wild forwards. He did take his fair amount of slashes, hooks, and cross-checks while trying to score, but he wasn’t afraid to throw his body around either. He had 119 hits and a lot of those came from playing on the same line as Marcus Foligno. However, the most impressive stat was his low number of giveaways with 14 and he had an astonishing 44 takeaways.
It’s hard to notice Eriksson Ek’s hard work when he’s not scoring goals but he provides so much on offense and defense. He’s got the same level of work ethic as Kirill Kaprizov and the two of them worked well together on the first power play unit as well. His work on special teams can’t be overlooked either as he had 23 points on the power play and on the penalty kill he recorded two shorthanded goals. He never stops working and hopefully, he’ll be 100 percent come next season.
Eriksson Ek’s Influence on the Postseason
Eriksson Ek missed out on all of the postseason but 19 seconds of Game 3 where he took the opening faceoff and skated right off the ice. It was later announced that he tried to skate on a fractured fibula and it shouldn’t be surprising as that’s the type of player he is.
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Eriksson Ek missing out on the postseason was felt by every member of the Wild organization. Of course, they needed to find a way to step up without him, but they couldn’t. They struggled on special teams and their five-on-five play took a hit. It’s hard to know how valuable a player is until they’re hurt and while the Wild knew his value, it still hit them hard when he couldn’t play.
Clearly, the Wild can’t blame their season ending on the Eriksson Ek injury, but it did play a part. It would’ve been very interesting to see how the team would’ve played with him in the lineup. They likely still would’ve lost because the Dallas Stars were playing better but the games might have been closer. Hopefully, the Wild make it to the postseason next year and Eriksson Ek will have the chance to show what he can do.
Eriksson Ek’s Grade
Eriksson Ek had a great regular season. While he didn’t set a new career high in goals, he did in assists and points. He blocked a lot of shots and had an impressive number of takeaways. His gritty play was impressive and he was one of their best on special teams. His grade for the regular season is an A, there’s always room to improve but he continues to move in the right direction and had a great season for the Wild.
Related: Wild Have to Work Harder Without Eriksson Ek
Obviously, a grade can’t really be given based on 19 seconds of a game but he earned a lot of respect for trying to come back. The only problem was they were down a player the rest of the game once he left. Thankfully, they came out with the win that time. So, overall his grade remains an A and he’s one of the very few Wild players who have earned or will earn one this season.
While his grade could’ve been lower, he did so much for the team it’s hard to punish him for any mistakes he may have made. The same can be said for why he didn’t earn an A+ because there’s always room to do better. However, Eriksson Ek’s play clearly deserved the A and hopefully, he can do it again next season with better results in the playoffs.
