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Pelle Eklund

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Pelle Eklund
Pelle Eklund in 2013.
Born (1963-03-22) 22 March 1963 (age 61)
Solna, Sweden
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Winger
Shot Left
Played for AIK
Leksands IF
Philadelphia Flyers
Dallas Stars
National team  Sweden
NHL draft 161st overall, 1983
Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career 1981–1999

Per-Erik "Pelle" Eklund (born 22 March 1963) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey winger. He played nine seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars from 1985 to 1994 and nine seasons in the Swedish Elitserien (SEL) with AIK and Leksands IF from 1981 to 1985 and 1994 to 1999. Internationally Eklund played for the Swedish national team at several World Championships, winning gold in 1991 and silver in both 1990 and 1995, and the 1984 Winter Olympics, winning a bronze medal.

Playing career

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Pelle Eklund played as a Bantam for Stocksund in team 63 where he was the captain of the team. This team made a huge impact in international Batam tournaments such as the annual Lahr Cup at the Canadian Forces Base in Lahr where top Bantam teams from Europe competed ( Poldi Kladno, Kosice, Schwenningen, la Chaux des Fonds, Freiburg etc). 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 were 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

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Medal record
Representing Sweden Sweden
Olympics
Bronze medal – third place 1984 Sarajevo
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Finland
Silver medal – second place 1995 Sweden
Silver medal – second place 1990 Switzerland
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1981 Soviet Union

Eklund played 126 international games for the Swedish national team. He played in six 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.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Stocksunds IF SWE-3 1 2 0 2
1979–80 Stocksunds IF SWE-3 17 8 2 10
1980–81 Stocksunds IF SWE-3 19 13 20 33
1981–82 AIK SWE 23 2 2 4 2
1982–83 AIK SWE 34 13 17 30 14 3 1 4 5 2
1983–84 AIK SWE 35 9 18 27 24 6 6 7 13 2
1984–85 AIK SWE 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 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 2 1 3 2 9 0 3 3 4
1994–95 Leksands IF SWE 32 13 36 49 12 2 0 1 1 0
1995–96 Leksands IF SWE 30 6 17 23 6 4 1 0 1 2
1996–97 Leksands IF SWE 36 6 16 22 10 9 2 5 7 4
1997–98 Leksands IF SWE 38 8 18 26 18 4 1 0 1 2
1998–99 Leksands IF SWE 37 8 17 25 10 4 1 2 3 4
SWE totals 300 81 174 255 106 32 12 19 31 16
NHL totals 594 120 335 455 109 66 10 36 46 8

International

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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 OLY 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

Awards

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  • 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

References

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  1. ^ Uffe Bodin (1 June 2010). "Svensken får lämna Montréa" (in Swedish). Hockeysverige. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
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Preceded by Golden Puck
1984
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Bobby Clarke Trophy
1991
Succeeded by