The Minnesota Wild spent all offseason trying to get a No. 1 center, and it may have left Joel Eriksson Ek in the shuffle. A mainstay in the Wild’s top six, Eriksson Ek’s importance grew when he missed the entire series against the Colorado Avalanche in last year’s playoffs. But he's become even more important as Minnesota opens the 2026-27 season.
Entering Tuesday night’s matchup against the Utah Mammoth, Eriksson Ek had modest totals of three goals and 10 points in the first 13 games. He has also anchored a highly productive superline with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy at times, giving the Wild a substantial chunk of their offense.
Wild fans have long known how much Eriksson Ek means to their team. But if the Wild can upgrade down the middle, he could have an even bigger impact as the season rolls on.
Joel Eriksson Ek gives the Minnesota Wild something they can’t replace
A first-round pick by the Wild in the 2015 draft (20th overall), Eriksson Ek has been a steady performer for Minnesota. Over 11 seasons, Eriksson Ek has racked up 158 goals, 202 assists, and 360 points in 627 career games. A big part of that has been his net-front presence where he uses his 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame to create deflections, tip-ins and rebounds. But he also frustrates opponents with his work ethic, giving Minnesota its gritty identity.
Eriksson Ek’s presence isn’t limited to the offensive end of the ice. John Hynes has paired him with Boldy in recent seasons to create a shutdown line used against opponents’ best offensive talent, and it has helped Eriksson Ek earn Selke Trophy votes for the best defensive forward in the NHL in each of the past six seasons, including four top-10 finishes for the award and a 12th-place finish last season.
This makes Eriksson Ek a fixture on the Wild’s penalty kill and power play units, a fan favorite in St. Paul, and a player head coach John Hynes noted during last year’s first-round playoff series against the Dallas Stars.
“When you look at the way he plays, there’s not one aspect of the game from a competitive aspect that he falters in,” Hynes told Sarah McLellan of The Minnesota Star Tribune. “He’ll block shots. He’ll hit. He’ll take a hit to make a play. He’ll get to the net. He’ll take a punch without retaliating. He’ll block a shot. You name it. He’s got second and third efforts on pucks. That’s what he is.”
Wild can unlock an even better version of Joel Eriksson Ek with a trade for a center
With a 53.6 percent winning percentage on faceoffs, Eriksson Ek is also addressing one of the Wild’s biggest weaknesses from a year ago, and it could be even better news if Minnesota can acquire a top center such as Dylan Larkin.
Larkin would presumably anchor a top line that could include Kaprizov and Maxim Shabanov, and Eriksson Ek would slide down to the second line with Boldy and Blake Coleman. This would create the scoring depth the Wild have struggled to find this season and could help Eriksson Ek find the back of the net, as his 6.8 percent shooting percentage is well below his career rate of 10 percent.
This is another reason why the Wild have kept pushing even though Larkin’s current team, the Detroit Red Wings, is a complete mess. But it’s also why Eriksson Ek has earned his spotlight early this season, and it could become brighter as the season continues.
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