Wild 2022-23 Report Cards: Joel Eriksson Ek

He’s the Wild’s best two-way player for a reason and it shows in his defensive stats. He had 55 blocked shots through the season and took the top spot for Wild forwards. He did take his fair amount of slashes, hooks, and cross-checks while trying to score, but he wasn’t afraid to throw his body around either. He had 119 hits and a lot of those came from playing on the same line as Marcus Foligno. However, the most impressive stat was his low number of giveaways with 14 and he had an astonishing 44 takeaways.

It’s hard to notice Eriksson Ek’s hard work when he’s not scoring goals but he provides so much on offense and defense. He’s got the same level of work ethic as Kirill Kaprizov and the two of them worked well together on the first power play unit as well. His work on special teams can’t be overlooked either as he had 23 points on the power play and on the penalty kill he recorded two shorthanded goals. He never stops working and hopefully, he’ll be 100 percent come next season.

Eriksson Ek’s Influence on the Postseason

Eriksson Ek missed out on all of the postseason but 19 seconds of Game 3 where he took the opening faceoff and skated right off the ice. It was later announced that he tried to skate on a fractured fibula and it shouldn’t be surprising as that’s the type of player he is.

Eriksson Ek missing out on the postseason was felt by every member of the Wild organization. Of course, they needed to find a way to step up without him, but they couldn’t. They struggled on special teams and their five-on-five play took a hit. It’s hard to know how valuable a player is until they’re hurt and while the Wild knew his value, it still hit them hard when he couldn’t play.

Clearly, the Wild can’t blame their season ending on the Eriksson Ek injury, but it did play a part. It would’ve been very interesting to see how the team would’ve played with him in the lineup. They likely still would’ve lost because the Dallas Stars were playing better but the games might have been closer. Hopefully, the Wild make it to the postseason next year and Eriksson Ek will have the chance to show what he can do.

Eriksson Ek’s Grade

Eriksson Ek had a great regular season. While he didn’t set a new career high in goals, he did in assists and points. He blocked a lot of shots and had an impressive number of takeaways. His gritty play was impressive and he was one of their best on special teams. His grade for the regular season is an A, there’s always room to improve but he continues to move in the right direction and had a great season for the Wild.

Obviously, a grade can’t really be given based on 19 seconds of a game but he earned a lot of respect for trying to come back. The only problem was they were down a player the rest of the game once he left. Thankfully, they came out with the win that time. So, overall his grade remains an A and he’s one of the very few Wild players who have earned or will earn one this season.

While his grade could’ve been lower, he did so much for the team it’s hard to punish him for any mistakes he may have made. The same can be said for why he didn’t earn an A+ because there’s always room to do better. However, Eriksson Ek’s play clearly deserved the A and hopefully, he can do it again next season with better results in the playoffs.