There have only been three players to wear No. 72 for the San Jose Sharks, but William Eklund is the one who left the biggest mark in teal.
Selected seventh overall by the Sharks in the 2021 NHL Draft, Eklund got his first taste of the NHL during the 2021-22 season, when he appeared in nine games. He then spent his first full season in North America in 2022-23 building his reputation at the American Hockey League level, while also chipping in a pair of goals in limited NHL action.
The real breakthrough came in 2023-24, when Eklund finally played a full NHL season. He suited up in 80 games and finished with 16 goals and 45 points.
What made him stand out in San Jose, though, went beyond the numbers. Because the Sharks were so young and had so few long-tenured players, Eklund found himself leaning into a veteran role during his second and third seasons. After losses and through rough stretches, he was often one of the voices that surfaced simply because he had a little more time in the league than many of the players around him.
If this countdown had been written two months earlier, that would have been the end of the story. Instead, Eklund became a central piece of an offseason trade that sent him and a couple of prospects to the Ottawa Senators in return for the ninth overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, which became Keaton Verhoeff.