Article: One Tweak Could Spark Monster Year From Joel Eriksson Ek

[Tony Abbott]

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[bjvcampbell]

This man has no ceiling.  #JEEKstanforlife

[Imyourhuckleberry]

I recall years ago where people were saying JEE wouldn't ever surpass 15 goals, back when he was 22-23 years old and playing a significant portion of his minutes short handed, getting zero power play minutes.

I said then that he was relatively effective even strength, but needed more opportunity. Even so, his drastic scoring jump and larger opportunity is a huge credit to his work ethic, continuously striving to improve. He is the most fit player on the Wild, and a huge part of what makes the Wild a winning team.

I'd love to see him up at 30+ goals this season, and he seems capable of that.

[MNCountryLife]

You don't find many players that have his level of a 200 foot game.   He does it all... and every year he seems to get better. True professional at his craft.  Big, strong, fast, great stick,  physical, skilled, great hockey IQ and fearless.  Can anyone name a weakness... I can't.  

[bisopher]

JEE should get some serious Selke consideration this year (and in the future), especially with Patrice Bergeron retiring.  Let's see if a few more PPGs are enough to get him truly noticed.

[mnfaninnc]

Perhaps it is just my imagination, but to me, Ek looks like he is more motivated this year. Maybe it's the way that last year ended for him? He just appears to have a bit more determination so far, and the season is young. 

I sure hope Rossi is taking notes on him, and models his progress like Ek has done. Every year Ek comes back better. And, he's got more skill than you think. 

Above, Tony mentions his lucky tip on his 1st goal. That was not lucky, that was skill. He purposely tipped it to his left so he could slam it home. 

Last night, it looked like he took his aggression to a new level by not fighting back, but starting the scrum in front of the net. There seems to be an underlying intensity between the Kings and Wild that is building. I like it!

[Imyourhuckleberry]

16 minutes ago, mnfaninnc said:

Above, Tony mentions his lucky tip on his 1st goal. That was not lucky, that was skill. He purposely tipped it to his left so he could slam it home. 

Pretty sure he meant it was lucky it was redirected to him to begin with. A Wild teammate did not intentionally pass the puck to JEE.

Zuccarello was trying to pass to Johansson on the other side of the ice and an opponent's stick redirected it towards the goal where Eriksson Ek made a phenomenal skill play. JEE tipped the puck while still in the air to get himself setup for a great finish, but it was lucky that the puck was redirected so he could do that.

[mnfaninnc]

13 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Zuccarello was trying to pass to Johansson on the other side of the ice and an opponent's stick redirected it towards the goal where Eriksson Ek made a phenomenal skill play. JEE tipped the puck while still in the air to get himself setup for a great finish, but it was lucky that the puck was redirected so he could do that.

I didn't see it as Zuccarello trying to find Johansson, when I saw it, I thought he was trying to shoot, but, I'll be honest, I didn't really look hard at it. I can buy that explanation! Thanks Huck

[Imyourhuckleberry]

2 hours ago, mnfaninnc said:

I didn't see it as Zuccarello trying to find Johansson, when I saw it, I thought he was trying to shoot, but, I'll be honest, I didn't really look hard at it.

What I indicated was sort of how I recalled it, but I had to go back and pull up the game on NHL.com to be 100%. When they replay that goal, the announcer is saying that he was passing across to Johansson, but it was tough to see exactly how it got to Eriksson Ek's stick without looking at it a few times with a few different angles.

👍

[mnfaninnc]

19 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

What I indicated was sort of how I recalled it, but I had to go back and pull up the game on NHL.com to be 100%. When they replay that goal, the announcer is saying that he was passing across to Johansson, but it was tough to see exactly how it got to Eriksson Ek's stick without looking at it a few times with a few different angles.

👍

Sometimes, LaPanta is a bit behind in his calling of the game. Sometimes he kind of gets it wrong too. Thanks for going back to look at it, I don't think I have that same commitment level at this point!