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Olle Eriksson Ek

Anaheim Ducks Prospect Olle Eriksson Ek Signs In Sweden

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Anaheim Ducks goalie prospect Olle Eriksson Ek has signed a two-year contract with the newly-promoted MoDo Hockey of the SHL, the team announced this morning. Eriksson Ek, who made his NHL debut this season, is a restricted free agent this offseason.

Twenty-three years of age, Anaheim selected Eriksson Ek with the 153rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He’s split the last four seasons between the AHL’s San Diego Gulls and ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers, never terribly impressing with his numbers. This season was especially tough for him in San Diego, winning just two games in 20 attempts and recording a .852 save percentage and 4.81 goals-against average. In his only NHL appearance, a late-season start against the Arizona Coyotes, he stopped 34 of 39 shots,

MoDo’s release notes the signing has been a long time coming, saying there had been mutual interest between the two parties before the Allsvenskan playoffs had started. Eriksson Ek would have joined the club whether or not they had gained promotion. The team feels Eriksson Ek still has high potential but has been affected by his development (or lack of) in the Ducks system.

The question now revolves around whether Anaheim will issue Eriksson Ek a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights in 2025 when his agreement in Sweden expires. Given his lack of tangible development over the past few seasons, Anaheim seems more likely to walk away from him altogether.

Snapshots: Three Stars, Strome, Eriksson Ek

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The NHL released its Three Stars for last week, with Nathan MacKinnon taking home the top spot. The Colorado Avalanche superstar scored three game-winning goals, and broke the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. Through 68 games, he has 107 points, a per-game rate that only trails Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

Second and third place went to Jordan Eberle of the Seattle Kraken and Alex Lyon of the Flordia Panthers, respectively. Eberle continues to be one of the most “clutch” players in the league, with two-game winning goals last week to bring his career total to 43, and send the Kraken to the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. Meanwhile, Lyon effectively saved the Panthers’ season by stepping into the crease and posting a .956 save percentage over six starts (all wins).

  • The Department of Player Safety has issued a $5,000 fine for unsportsmanlike conduct to Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Strome for his actions in last night’s game against the Avalanche. Strome threw a water bottle from the bench as Colorado won the game in overtime, and will have to pay a small fee.
  • The Ducks have also made a roster move, sending Olle Eriksson Ek back to the minor leagues. This is the fourth time in just a few days that Eriksson Ek has been involved in a transaction, bouncing up and down through the last part of the season as Anaheim tries to get to the summer break.

Ducks Recall Olle Eriksson Ek

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Apr. 7: Another day, another Eriksson Ek transaction.  This time, he’s back on his way to Anaheim with the team announcing that he has been recalled once more from San Diego.

Apr 6: Eriksson Ek has been returned to the AHL today. The Ducks don’t play again until Saturday, after losing to Edmonton last night.

Apr 5: In case of a potential injury to starting goaltender John Gibson, Derek Lee of the Sporting Tribune reports that the Anaheim Ducks have recalled Olle Eriksson Ek from their AHL affiliate San Diego Gulls. This will mark Eriksson Ek’s third call-up to the professional club so far this season.

After being drafted 153rd overall in the 2017 NHL draft, Eriksson Ek has had a difficult time moving up in the Ducks’ organization. He has spent the last four seasons in North America, splitting time between the AHL and the ECHL. Understandably, he has produced much better numbers playing with the ECHL’s Tulsa Oilers.

Unfortunately for the Ducks, Eriksson Ek has produced increasingly depressed numbers each season he has been within the organization. In his rookie season in the AHL, he played in 15 games, going 8-6-1, carrying a .901 SV% and a 3.14 GAA.

Last year, Eriksson Ek followed his rookie campaign up with a 7-15-3 record in 26 games, posting a .880 SV% and a 3.44 GAA. This year hasn’t been any better, going 2-14-0, with a .852 SV% and a 4.81 GAA in 20 games. If Gibson is injured for tonight’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, and Eriksson Ek does play, it will be his first-ever start in the NHL.

Ducks Recall Lukas Dostal

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The Ducks have decided to swap out their backup goaltenders, announcing that they’ve recalled Lukas Dostal from San Diego of the AHL.  In a corresponding move, Olle Eriksson Ek was returned to the Gulls.

Dostal got into seven games with Anaheim on his first recall earlier this season, posting a 3.53 GAA along with a team-high .909 SV%.  The 22-year-old has spent the bulk of the year in the minors, playing in 34 contests with San Diego where he has a 2.97 GAA with a .912 SV%, earning himself an appearance at the AHL All-Star game which was earlier this week.

As for Eriksson Ek, he backed up John Gibson last night with Anthony Stolarz dealing with a lower-body injury that has him listed as day-to-day.  The 23-year-old has yet to make an NHL appearance and has struggled considerably in the minors this season with a 4.79 GAA and a .851 SV% in 13 games, numbers that are significantly worse than his first three seasons in North America.

Troy Terry Placed On Injured Reserve

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After playing just three shifts before exiting Monday’s game against the Dallas Stars, Troy Terry has been placed on injured reserve. The Anaheim Ducks forward is dealing with an upper-body injury and missed Tuesday’s match against the Chicago Blackhawks. In his roster spot, the Ducks have recalled goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek from the AHL.

With Anthony Stolarz listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury Eriksson Ek will likely serve as John Gibson’s backup tonight. The young netminder has never appeared in an NHL game and has an .851 save percentage in 13 games for the San Diego Gulls this season.

Terry, meanwhile, has been excellent once again, racking up 42 points through 51 games to earn a trip to the All-Star game. The 25-year-old now has 109 points in 126 games over his last two seasons, experiencing a true breakout after some middling performances early in his career.

For a contending team, removing that from the lineup would be devastating. For the Ducks, it might realistically be a good thing. Anaheim is 5-1-1 in their last seven games, the opposite of what they want to accomplish this season. They have pulled within three points of the San Jose Sharks in the Pacific Division race and are now well ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the top draft lottery position.

It could be good for the Ducks on a different level, too. Terry is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent at the end of the year, and with the excellent point totals he has recently put up, he will be looking for a huge raise on his current $1.45MM cap hit. Some time out of the lineup will help the Ducks in those negotiations, even if they want to be icing their young star as much as possible.

Snapshots: Ducks Goaltenders, Maple Leafs, Rielly

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The Ducks will have their starting goaltender back between the pipes tonight as head coach Dallas Eakins relayed to reporters including Bally Sports West’s Aly Lozoff (Twitter link) that John Gibson has been cleared to return from his lower-body injury and will start against Vegas.  It has been a tough year for the veteran as his GAA has jumped to 3.99 while his save percentage is down to just .896, numbers that are the worst of his career by a considerable margin.  In a corresponding roster move, the team officially returned goalie Olle Eriksson Ek to AHL San Diego.

Meanwhile, backup goaltender Anthony Stolarz has started skating on his own and could join the team for practice soon, relays Lisa Dillman of The Orange County Register.  The veteran suffered a lower-body injury back on December 12th and hasn’t played since.  He, too, is having a tough year with a 4.02 GAA and a save percentage of just .886, hardly the performance he or the Ducks were hoping for as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent in July.

Elsewhere around the NHL:

  • The NHL has levied a pair of fines on the Maple Leafs. First, the team was fined $100K for a CBA travel violation as they traveled to St. Louis late on December 26th.  While it was a late-night flight, the rule states that teams cannot travel or have any activities until the 27th.  The second fine was issued to head coach Sheldon Keefe for demeaning conduct directed at the officials during last night’s game against St. Louis.  He’ll be $25K lighter in the wallet as a result.
  • Still with the Maple Leafs, they are expected to have their top blueliner back in the lineup tomorrow as Keefe told reporters including Sports Illustrated’s David Alter that Morgan Rielly should suit up Thursday against Arizona. The 28-year-old suffered a knee injury a little over a month ago and was placed on LTIR.  Toronto will need to get cap-compliant in order to activate him but a pair of LTIR placements yesterday and an eventual return of Mac Hollowell to the minors will be enough to allow them to activate Rielly.

Anaheim Ducks Recall Olle Eriksson Ek, Anthony Stolarz Moved To IR

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5:53 pm: Per CapFriendly’s depth charts, it appears the Ducks have shifted Stolarz to injured reserve to make room for Eriksson Ek on the active roster.

4:13 pm: The Anaheim Ducks recalled goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek from the AHL’s San Diego Gulls today, according to a team release.

It’s not good news for the health of John Gibson, who left last night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with a lower-body injury. Lukas Dostal appeared in relief, with regular backup Anthony Stolarz already out of the lineup with a lower-body injury.

One of Gibson, Stolarz, or forward Max Jones had to be moved to injured reserve to make this transaction, as their roster would sit at 24 out of a maximum 23 players with Eriksson Ek recalled.

Eriksson Ek, the younger brother of Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek, was a fifth-round pick of the Ducks in 2017. His strong numbers in Swedish juniors have yet to translate to professional hockey in North America, though. Eriksson Ek hasn’t won a game with San Diego this season and has a .844 save percentage in eight appearances.

In the meantime, Dostal will take the reigns as Anaheim’s starter. The organization’s top goaltending prospect had a much stronger .916 save percentage in the minors this season but has just six NHL appearances. If the Ducks are looking to get out of a severe funk that has them in last place in the league, it likely won’t come from their goaltending.

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