Anaheim Ducks Prospect Focus: Goalie, Olle Eriksson Ek
Jake Robles is back again to bring you the low down on the Anaheim Ducks newest signee Swedish Goaltender Olle Eriksson Ek.
Olle Eriksson Ek is a 19-year-old goaltender out of Sweden’s SHL and J20 SuperElit leagues. The J20 is the equivalent to the North American juniors we know. Teams in the J20 typically are associated with a team in the SHL.
Eriksson Ek has spent the entirety of his career with Färjestad BK, a hometown team located in Southern Sweden, and their affiliates. The Anaheim Ducks drafted Eriksson Ek 153rd overall in the 5th Round of the 2017 Draft. He signed a three-year ELC that starts at the beginning of the 2018-2019 season. Let’s get into the details.
Style
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Eriksson Ek stands at 6 foot, 2 inches and is a regular handed goalie, meaning he catches with his left, holds his stick with his right. Per a quote found on his Elite Prospects page; “Eriksson Ek likes to block the puck, and utilizes his big upper body to allow the puck to travel to him and make saves.”
I found only two videos on YouTube that really showcased his play. One is a 3-0 shutout against the Malmö Redhawks back in 2016.
The other is a shootout loss in a U18, Five Nation tournament game against Team USA from last year (see below). The quote from his elite prospect’s page definitely holds up. Many of the clips from the 2016 highlight video featured saves made with the upper body.
Scouting Report
His butterfly movement isn’t the fastest but that’s common with taller goalies. With that being said, his game down low is impressive. One thing I noticed that was little strange was, he tucks his elbows in when facing a shot in any manner. It isn’t anything unorthodox by any means. It’s a movement that’s fairly quite frequent for a goalie to make on a consistent basis.
The way Erikson Ek does it is more pronounced from anything I’m used to seeing. This only seemed apparent in the first video when he was facing normal play. It wasn’t very noticeable in the shootout, but the shootout did provide some insight into some areas where he is a little weak.
The young goalie played every shooter very aggressively. He came out to the top of the crease and in one instance, above and outside of the paint entirely. Being aggressive like that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it seemed like the American shooters, who did score, took advantage of that.
Another weakness I see is something I briefly mentioned earlier. His ability to drop into the butterfly is a little slow. I think its something he’ll get better at with time as he grows older. He reminds me of Ben Bishop. They both play a similar style that’s reliant on using their torsos as much as possible. Bishop is much taller, but there was something that felt so familiar when watching Eriksson Ek play.
My Prediction
It’s safe to assume that Eriksson Ek is most likely going to be with San Diego for the next few seasons behind Kevin Boyle. Boyle has been San Diego’s go-to guy for a while now, with the exception of this year with Berra being down after the Anaheim Ducks starters were healthy.
A few years down in the minors of North America are the best place for a European player that is not accustomed to the style of play here. I’m excited just thinking about getting to see the future of the franchise all down on the farm together. Sam Steel, Max Jones, Josh Mahura, Maxime Comtois, Giovanni Fiore, Jacob Larsson, and so many more. The future is gonna be fun folks.
Next: 2017-18 Anaheim Ducks Goalie Grades
Thanks for reading!