Article: Joel Eriksson Ek Is Still Quietly Driving Winning For the Wild

[Robert Brent]

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[MNCountryLife]

Among other things, Ek is also a momentum changer.  When we are against the ropes he seems to be the one that finds a way to change the momentum and pressure opposing team in their end.  Ekker deserves every accolade he gets and more.  Amazing center that I personally believe is deserving of being called a #1 center.

[Imyourhuckleberry]

10 minutes ago, MNCountryLife said:

Ekker deserves every accolade he gets and more.  Amazing center that I personally believe is deserving of being called a #1 center.

He doesn't rack up assists in the way many commenters associate with a #1, but he does seem to impact the game at a level on par with most #1 centers.

[Citizen Strife]

Kaprizov is the biggest name player, and scores the most points.  But Eriksson Ek is the most important player on the team, and has been for 2-3 years, if not longer.  His play never changes.  He gets his nose broken, punched, push around, but comes back with that -_- on his face and makes the other team pay somehow.

[Skomonkey]

What cemented it for me with Ek was the last time we were in the playoffs. Ek broke his foot and was unable to play. The wild were just not the same team and that was very visible. Dallas handled us easy and got us very frustrated which resulted in penalties and with the loss of Ek on the penalty kill, goals we were just unable to come back from.

On the other hand with Krill, while he was out, Boldy stepped up and saw his offense flourish. We saw that the kid had one or more levels. He could instantly jump to, and seem to put the rest of the team on his back. Since that time, Boldy has only gotten better. His hands, his maturity, and his effectiveness in retrieving pucks and backchecking have made him a 200 foot player that is dangerous at all times

Make no mistake, without Krill we would be languishing in the bottom third of the league but when it comes to the MVP of this team, there’s no question that Ek is the heart and soul. 

[Imyourhuckleberry]

10 minutes ago, Skomonkey said:

What cemented it for me with Ek was the last time we were in the playoffs. Ek broke his foot and was unable to play. The wild were just not the same team and that was very visible. Dallas handled us easy and got us very frustrated which resulted in penalties and with the loss of Ek on the penalty kill, goals we were just unable to come back from.

On the other hand with Krill, while he was out, Boldy stepped up and saw his offense flourish. We saw that the kid had one or more levels. He could instantly jump to, and seem to put the rest of the team on his back. Since that time, Boldy has only gotten better. His hands, his maturity, and his effectiveness in retrieving pucks and backchecking have made him a 200 foot player that is dangerous at all times

Make no mistake, without Krill we would be languishing in the bottom third of the league but when it comes to the MVP of this team, there’s no question that Ek is the heart and soul. 

For that team in that moment, I think it's true that JEE was a bigger loss than Kirill, but I don't think you can say he's more valuable right now because Kaprizov has elevated his game since that time. He's driving scoring at a level he hasn't in the past even though Kaprizov has always scored at a high level.

Both guys are truly irreplaceable for this team to see the highest levels of success, particularly when it comes to the postseason.

[mnfaninnc]

2 hours ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

He doesn't rack up assists in the way many commenters associate with a #1, but he does seem to impact the game at a level on par with most #1 centers.

Let's go even further with the point: He retrieves pucks much better than centers typically do and while he doesn't assist very pretty, many times he is the retrieval and first pass in the offensive zone that would be a 3rd assist. 

While I take issue with the assist pattern established in the NHL, it is my belief that assist should be more than just touching a puck (like Rossi did in OT). It should be someone who had a significant contribution to the play. Screens never get assisted but they are a significant contribution. He's a #1 in the Kopitar/Bergeron mold.

Did anyone else notice that out of his 30 goals last year in the heat map, he's already expanded his box twice this year with 2 huge snipes?

[Imyourhuckleberry]

Fans who question Johansson's place on the 2nd line might appreciate this video.

[Protec]

15 minutes ago, Imyourhuckleberry said:

Fans who question Johansson's place on the 2nd line might appreciate this video.

Almost like those guys took their notes from us. 😁