There have been three players over the years that have worn the number 72 for the San Jose Sharks, but it’s safe to say that the most impactful player to wear the number for the team in teal was William Eklund.
Eklund, the Sharks’ seventh overall selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut during the 2021-22 season when he appeared in nine games. During his first full season in North America in the 2022-23 campaign, Eklund established himself as a standout prospect at the American Hockey League level and scored a pair of goals during his limited opportunities at the NHL level.
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During the 2023-24 season, Eklund got his first chance to play a full season in the NHL. In 80 games, he scored 16 goals and 45 points. Oddly though, Eklund became relied on as a veteran during his second and third seasons in the league. Due to the Sharks’ youth and lack of long-tenured players, Eklund was one of the voices often heard after a difficult loss or tough moment simply because he had slightly more experience.
That added pressure never slowed Eklund down though, as his production rose in his second season, scoring 17 goals and 58 points in 77 games. Then, in the 2025-26 season, he had a very similar rate of offensive production, recording 15 goals and 53 points in 78 appearances.
Had this countdown been written two months ago, it would’ve had very different context for the former fan favorite as it would end here. Instead, Eklund was at the center of an offseason trade that saw him and a couple of prospects head to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for the ninth overall selection in the 2026 NHL Draft, which became Keaton Verhoeff.
Now, reunited with his countryman Fabian Zetterlund, Eklund will call a new city home for the first time in his NHL career.
