Wild 2025-26 Report Cards: Joel Eriksson Ek – The Hockey Writers – Minnesota Wild

The offseason is still moving along slowly, but the upcoming NHL season is coming faster than we all think since they’re starting slightly earlier this year. That means we’re down to our final Minnesota Wild report cards from last season, and we’re moving our way through the second line. The most recent player was Marcus Johansson, and next up will be one of his main linemates, center Joel Eriksson Ek. 

Like Marcus Foligno, Eriksson Ek struggled all season with injury issues, and that will be considered when giving out his grade. We’ll look at how he did through the regular season, injuries and all, and his postseason performance to come up with an overall grade. 

Eriksson Ek Pushes Through

This past season was definitely better for Joel Eriksson Ek than the season prior in terms of injuries. He played in 70 games last season compared to just 46 the season before that. In those 70 games, he scored 19 goals and assisted on 32 others for 51 points, a 22-point increase from the season prior. 

Of course, his offensive style is usually what gets him into trouble, as he loves to be a pest in front of the net. However, he’s easily the Wild’s best two-way center, and that means he has a strong defensive side as well. He dished out 106 hits, which put him in third place behind Yakov Trenin and Marcus Foligno. Although his physicality was high, his blocked shots were lower, with 34 blocks in those 70 games, an area that needs to be better going forward. 

Eriksson Ek’s stats weren’t as good as they could’ve been, but he did deal with some injuries as stated above. After looking over his stats, he earned a B, and that may seem low to some, but everyone knows he has more to his game, and his blocked shots needed to be better. His grade wasn’t lower because he did produce with points and hits, and his style of always being in the way of the goaltender helped too. 

Eriksson Ek Hits Roadblock 

Unfortunately for Eriksson Ek, his injury issues followed him into the postseason, and he was only able to play in Round 1 against the Dallas Stars but missed out on Round 2 against the Colorado Avalanche. He broke his heel bone in Game 6 against the Stars and missed the entire series against the Avalanche. He ended with six games played, but three goals scored, and he assisted on two others for five points.

Five points in six games played is respectable, especially in the postseason, and he was on a good roll until that injury came into play. He even kept his hits up with an impressive 15, but his blocked shots left some room for improvement with just three. Eriksson Ek is usually pretty solid defensively, but his blocks need some attention. 

“Yeah, lot of emotions watching. I mean, everyone says it’s a lot worse to sit on the side and watch them playing the games. Yeah, it was hard. Weird. Yeah, just been hard to be on the side watching,” said Eriksson Ek to the media in his end-of-season interview when asked about what it was like to be on the sidelines for the postseason. 

His points in the postseason were strong, but his blocks were not, which led to him earning a B for his postseason. That may seem low considering he produced in almost every game he played, but he struggled on defense, which is why it’s not higher. However, it’s not lower because of his offense and his physicality, same as the regular season. 

Eriksson Ek’s Overall Grade

He had a pretty decent season in terms of offense with a combined 56 points in 76 games played between the regular season and postseason. Of course they would’ve liked more, but he did what he could. He earned a B for the regular season and a B for the postseason, which means he earned a B overall. 

While he does a lot for his team both offensively and defensively, his grade wasn’t higher because the Wild needed more blocks, and if he could find a way to stay healthy, that would help. Of course, that can’t always be avoided, but his grade isn’t lower because of the injuries he faced as well as the points he contributed. 

Hopefully Eriksson Ek can find a way to keep from getting hurt this coming season because the Wild obviously need him healthy. He plays great when he’s healthy, but that’s the biggest key and the biggest struggle. If he can avoid being injured, it’ll be interesting to see what he can do for his team and the number of points he can put up.