Pelle Eklund

Per-Erik "Pelle" Eklund (born 22 March 1963) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars and nine seasons in the Swedish Elitserien (SEL) with AIK and Leksands IF.

Pelle Eklund
Pelle Eklund during the Swedish Hockey League game AIK–Leksands IF inside the Stockholm Globe Arena in December 2013.
Born (1963-03-22) 22 March 1963
Solna, Sweden
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Left
Played for Elitserien
AIK
Leksands IF
NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
Dallas Stars
National team  Sweden
NHL Draft 161st overall, 1983
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 19811999

Playing career

Eklund played for AIK of the Elitserien between 1981 and 1985, winning the league championship in 1984. He quickly became one of the top players in the league, winning the Golden Puck as Sweden's top player in 1984 - one of the youngest winners ever at the age of only 21.

He came to the NHL in 1985, joining the Philadelphia Flyers who had selected him 161st overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He made an immediate impact, leading all rookies in assists with 51 and finishing 3rd in overall rookie scoring (behind only Kjell Dahlin and Gary Suter) in the 1985–86 season.

Over the next nine seasons, Eklund made a name for himself as a slick playmaking center, topping the 50 assist mark on three occasions. He was also noted for his gentlemanly play, always finishing amongst the least-penalized players in the NHL. The high point of his career came in the 1987 playoffs, when his outstanding play helped carry Philadelphia to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, as his 27 points were fourth in overall scoring and his 20 assists second to only Wayne Gretzky.

Eklund's scoring touch mysteriously disappeared in the 1993–94 season, as he recorded only one goal and 18 points in 48 games for the Flyers. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars, where he had a brief stint to finish his NHL career.

Eklund then returned to Sweden to play for Leksands IF for the 1994–95 season. He re-discovered his scoring touch in one of the finest seasons of his career, as he led the SEL in assists and points and was named league MVP. He played four more seasons for Leksand before retiring in 1999 at age 36.

In 2005–2006, he served as an assistant coach for Leksand. He served as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens until fired on 31 May 2010.[1] Currently he is an amateur scout with the Edmonton Oilers.

International

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
1984 Sarajevo Team Competition

Eklund played 126 international games for the Swedish national team. He played in six IIHF World Championships and was on the gold medal Swedish team of 1991. He played in the 1984 Winter Olympics on the Bronze medal team, and in the 1984 Canada Cup, in which Sweden made the finals. He was also on the European Championships gold-medal team in 1990.

Awards

  • Guldpucken Award (Golden Puck) as Sweden's player of the year in 1983–84
  • Guldhjalmen Award (Golden Helmet) as the Most Valuable Player in the Elitserien in 1994–95
  • 1984 Elitserien All-Star Team
  • top scorer in 1984 Elitserien playoffs

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Stocksunds IF SWE III 1 2 0 2
1979–80 Stocksunds IF SWE III 17 8 2 10
1980–81 Stocksunds IF SWE III 19 13 20 33
1981–82 AIK SEL 23 2 2 4 2
1982–83 AIK SEL 34 13 17 30 14 3 1 4 5 2
1983–84 AIK SEL 35 9 18 27 24 6 6 7 13 2
1984–85 AIK SEL 35 16 33 49 10
1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 70 15 51 66 12 5 0 2 2 0
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 72 14 41 55 2 26 7 20 27 2
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 10 32 42 12 7 0 3 3 0
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 18 51 69 23 19 3 8 11 2
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 70 23 39 62 16
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 19 50 69 14
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 51 7 16 23 4
1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 11 38 49 16
1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 48 1 16 17 8
1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 5 2 1 3 2 9 0 3 3 4
1994–95 Leksands IF SEL 32 13 36 49 12 2 0 1 1 0
1995–96 Leksands IF SEL 30 6 17 23 6 4 1 0 1 2
1996–97 Leksands IF SEL 36 6 16 22 10 9 2 5 7 4
1997–98 Leksands IF SEL 38 8 18 26 18 4 1 0 1 2
1998–99 Leksands IF SEL 37 8 17 25 10 4 1 2 3 4
SEL totals 300 81 174 255 106 32 12 19 31 16
NHL totals 594 120 335 455 109 66 10 36 46 8

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1981 Sweden EJC 5 0 0 0 4
1982 Sweden WJC 6 1 3 4 2
1983 Sweden WJC 7 5 1 6 2
1984 Sweden OG 7 2 6 8 0
1984 Sweden CC 8 1 1 2 0
1985 Sweden WC 10 2 4 6 2
1986 Sweden WC 4 1 1 2 4
1990 Sweden WC 10 1 7 8 4
1991 Sweden WC 10 1 3 4 2
1995 Sweden WC 8 1 2 3 0
1996 Sweden WC 6 0 3 3 4
Junior totals 18 6 4 10 8
Senior totals 63 9 27 36 16

References

  1. Uffe Bodin (1 June 2010). "Svensken får lämna Montréa" (in Swedish). Hockeysverige. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
Preceded by
Håkan Loob
Golden Puck
1984
Succeeded by
Anders Eldebrink
Preceded by
Rick Tocchet
Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1991
Succeeded by
Rod Brind'Amour

. | position = Winger | played_for = Elitserien
AIK
Leksands IF
NHL
Philadelphia Flyers
Dallas Stars | shoots = Left | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 10 | weight_lbs = 176 | ntl_team = SWE | birth_date = (1963-03-22) 22 March 1963 | birth_place = Solna, Sweden | draft = 161st overall | draft_year = 1983 | draft_team = Philadelphia Flyers | career_start = 1981 | career_end = 1999 }}

Per-Erik "Pelle" Eklund (born 22 March 1963) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars and nine seasons in the Swedish Elitserien (SEL) with AIK and Leksands IF.

Playing career

Eklund played for AIK of the Elitserien between 1981 and 1985, winning the league championship in 1984. He quickly became one of the top players in the league, winning the Golden Puck as Sweden's top player in 1984 - one of the youngest winners ever at the age of only 21.

He came to the NHL in 1985, joining the Philadelphia Flyers who had selected him 161st overall in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft. He made an immediate impact, leading all rookies in assists with 51 and finishing 3rd in overall rookie scoring (behind only Kjell Dahlin and Gary Suter) in the 1985–86 season.

Over the next nine seasons, Eklund made a name for himself as a slick playmaking center, topping the 50 assist mark on three occasions. He was also noted for his gentlemanly play, always finishing amongst the least-penalized players in the NHL. The high point of his career came in the 1987 playoffs, when his outstanding play helped carry Philadelphia to the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals, as his 27 points were fourth in overall scoring and his 20 assists second to only Wayne Gretzky.

Eklund's scoring touch mysteriously disappeared in the 1993–94 season, as he recorded only one goal and 18 points in 48 games for the Flyers. At the trade deadline, he was dealt to the Dallas Stars, where he had a brief stint to finish his NHL career.

Eklund then returned to Sweden to play for Leksands IF for the 1994–95 season. He re-discovered his scoring touch in one of the finest seasons of his career, as he led the SEL in assists and points and was named league MVP. He played four more seasons for Leksand before retiring in 1999 at age 36.

In 2005–2006, he served as an assistant coach for Leksand. He served as a scout for the Montreal Canadiens until fired on 31 May 2010.[1] Currently he is an amateur scout with the Edmonton Oilers.

International

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice hockey
1984 Sarajevo Team Competition

Eklund played 126 international games for the Swedish national team. He played in six IIHF World Championships and was on the gold medal Swedish team of 1991. He played in the 1984 Winter Olympics on the Bronze medal team, and in the 1984 Canada Cup, in which Sweden made the finals. He was also on the European Championships gold-medal team in 1990.

Awards

  • Guldpucken Award (Golden Puck) as Sweden's player of the year in 1983–84
  • Guldhjalmen Award (Golden Helmet) as the Most Valuable Player in the Elitserien in 1994–95
  • 1984 Elitserien All-Star Team
  • top scorer in 1984 Elitserien playoffs

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Stocksunds IF SWE III 1 2 0 2
1979–80 Stocksunds IF SWE III 17 8 2 10
1980–81 Stocksunds IF SWE III 19 13 20 33
1981–82 AIK SEL 23 2 2 4 2
1982–83 AIK SEL 34 13 17 30 14 3 1 4 5 2
1983–84 AIK SEL 35 9 18 27 24 6 6 7 13 2
1984–85 AIK SEL 35 16 33 49 10
1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 70 15 51 66 12 5 0 2 2 0
1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 72 14 41 55 2 26 7 20 27 2
1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 71 10 32 42 12 7 0 3 3 0
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 18 51 69 23 19 3 8 11 2
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 70 23 39 62 16
1990–91 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 19 50 69 14
1991–92 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 51 7 16 23 4
1992–93 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 55 11 38 49 16
1993–94 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 48 1 16 17 8
1993–94 Dallas Stars NHL 5 2 1 3 2 9 0 3 3 4
1994–95 Leksands IF SEL 32 13 36 49 12 2 0 1 1 0
1995–96 Leksands IF SEL 30 6 17 23 6 4 1 0 1 2
1996–97 Leksands IF SEL 36 6 16 22 10 9 2 5 7 4
1997–98 Leksands IF SEL 38 8 18 26 18 4 1 0 1 2
1998–99 Leksands IF SEL 37 8 17 25 10 4 1 2 3 4
SEL totals 300 81 174 255 106 32 12 19 31 16
NHL totals 594 120 335 455 109 66 10 36 46 8

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1981 Sweden EJC 5 0 0 0 4
1982 Sweden WJC 6 1 3 4 2
1983 Sweden WJC 7 5 1 6 2
1984 Sweden OG 7 2 6 8 0
1984 Sweden CC 8 1 1 2 0
1985 Sweden WC 10 2 4 6 2
1986 Sweden WC 4 1 1 2 4
1990 Sweden WC 10 1 7 8 4
1991 Sweden WC 10 1 3 4 2
1995 Sweden WC 8 1 2 3 0
1996 Sweden WC 6 0 3 3 4
Junior totals 18 6 4 10 8
Senior totals 63 9 27 36 16

References

  1. Uffe Bodin (1 June 2010). "Svensken får lämna Montréa" (in Swedish). Hockeysverige. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
Preceded by
Håkan Loob
Golden Puck
1984
Succeeded by
Anders Eldebrink
Preceded by
Rick Tocchet
Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1991
Succeeded by
Rod Brind'Amour
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