Islanders sign Victor Eklund to three-year, entry-level contract

The New York Islanders have agreed to terms on a three-year, entry-level contract with 2025 first-round pick Victor Eklund, the club announced Monday afternoon.

Eklund, 18, collected 19 goals and 31 points in 42 games with Swedish club Djurgårdens IF in the second-tier Allsvenskan league in the 2024-25 regular season. The 5’11” right wing added seven points in 16 games during the qualification stage to help promote Djurgårdens back into the top-tier Swedish Hockey League for the 2025-26 season.

The Islanders selected Eklund with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, using one of the two back-to-back first-round picks they acquired from the Montreal Canadiens in the Noah Dobson trade earlier that day.

Eklund is the younger brother of San Jose Sharks winger William Eklund, who was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft. William, another Djurgårdens alum, scored 58 points in 77 games with the Sharks in the 2024-25 season.

Born in October just like his older brother, Victor Eklund was one of the oldest players available in the 2025 NHL Draft, which may have contributed to his largely unexpected slide in the first round. A consensus top-10 talent, Eklund fell all the way to the middle of the round before the Islanders snapped up both him and Kashawn Aitcheson in succession.

The Islanders emerged from the 2025 NHL Draft as the uncontested winners of the two-day event, selecting defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick before snagging Eklund and Aitcheson later in Round 1. They earned further plaudits from the industry — including from Daily Faceoff prospects guru Steven Ellis — for adding high-upside forwards Daniil Prokhorov and Luca Romano, as well as goaltender Burke Hood, on Day 2.

Eklund is the first member of the Islanders’ 2025 draft class to sign an entry-level deal with the team, with Schaefer and Aitcheson likely to follow soon. His contract likely includes a European assignment clause, which would enable him to continue with Djurgårdens for now before making the jump to North America in the future.