William Eklund earns early birthday present: a spot on San Jose Sharks’ roster

SAN JOSE – William Eklund will be celebrating his 19th birthday as a member of the Sharks.

Eklund was among a group of six rookies still with the Sharks as of Monday afternoon when NHL teams had to submit salary cap-compliant rosters of no more than 23 players to the league.

Other rookies on the Sharks’ roster as of now are forwards Jasper Weatherby, Jonathan Dahlen, and Lane Pederson, and defensemen Santeri Hatakka and Jake Middleton.

To be considered a rookie, a player must not have played in more than 25 NHL games in any preceding seasons, nor in six or more NHL games in each of any two preceding seasons. Also, players who are at least 26 years old as of Sept. 15 of that season are not considered rookies.

Still, it’s unusual for the Sharks, or most NHL teams, to carry that many rookies to start the year. But the younger players left on the team simply beat out a few others — including some with NHL experience — for roster spots.

“I don’t know if we drew it up this way, but we did say coming into camp that it was going to be a competitive camp, and we’re going to go with the guys that had good camps and that deserved it,’ Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Saturday. “We’re not an organization coming in from last year where we can sort of just sit and go status quo.”

The Sharks have 22 players on the active roster. Former Vancouver Canucks forward Jonah Gadjovich, who was claimed off of waivers by the Sharks last week, could arrive in San Jose from Canada sometime in the next few days and be added to the roster.

Eklund, who turns 19 on Tuesday, was thought to be among the most NHL-ready players available in the 2021 draft when he was taken seventh overall by the Sharks in July. Throughout training camp, Eklund earned rave reviews from Sharks coaches and players as he led the team with six points in five preseason games.

Eklund has received ample time on the Sharks’ power play and ended the preseason on a line with Tomas Hertl and Rudolfs Balcers, signaling that he would likely be starting the year in a prominent role for the NHL team.

Eklund is also now in select company, as the only other players in the last 25 years to make the Sharks’ roster out of camp in the year they were drafted were Patrick Marleau in 1997 and Milan Michalek in 2003.

Eklund is among 13 forwards the Sharks had on their roster Monday. The Sharks at the moment are also carrying seven defensemen and goalies Adin Hill and James Reimer.

The Sharks start the season Saturday at home against the Winnipeg Jets, as they’ll be the last team in the league to play a game.

The Sharks had 27 players on their roster as of Sunday, but designated forward Evander Kane as a non-roster player, placed forward Jeffrey Viel on injured reserve, and assigned forward Adam Raska to the Barracuda.

Defenseman Nikolai Knyzhov has a lower-body injury, has not skated with the team, and is considered week-to-week by the Sharks. He has yet to pass a physical and is not included on the roster.

Knyzhov absence opened the door for Hatakka, 20, to make the team, and he could start the season as Erik Karlsson’s defense partner. The Sharks resume practice on Wednesday.

Weatherby, 23, is a first-year professional who signed an entry-level contract with the Sharks in August. From all indications, he’ll center the Sharks’ fourth line, and Dahlen, 23, will be a winger on the Sharks’ top line with Logan Couture and Timo Meier.