Нью-Йорк Айлендерсийн шинэхэн тоглогч Виктор Эклунд Торонто Мэйпл Лифсийн эсрэг хийсэн улирлын нээлтийн тоглолтод өөрийгөө харуулж чадлаа.
Торонто хотноо болсон NHL-ийн шинэ улирлын нээлтийн тоглолтод Нью-Йорк Айлендерс 2-1-ийн харьцаатай ялагдал хүлээв. Багийн залуу тоглогч Виктор Эклунд үндсэн бүрэлдэхүүнд багтан 11 минут 38 секунд талбай дээр гарснаар NHL-д анхны тоглолтоо хийлээ. Тэрээр тоглолтын туршид Торонто Мэйпл Лифсийн гол тоглогчид болох Остон Мэттьюс, Кирил Марченко, Жек Рослович нарын эсрэг хүч үзэж, дасгалжуулагч Пит Дебур түүний тоглолтод сэтгэл хангалуун байгаагаа илэрхийлжээ.
Багийн ахлах дасгалжуулагч Пит Дебур тоглолтын явцад Эклундын ур чадвар улам бүр сайжирч байсныг онцлоод, түүнд гоол оруулах боломж ч гарч байсныг дурдсан байна. Эклунд өөрөө энэхүү боломжийг гэнэтийн бөгөөд хариуцлагатай үйл явдал хэмээн тодорхойлжээ. Мэт Барзал бэртлийн улмаас талбайд гараагүй байгаа бөгөөд багийн ерөнхий менежер Матью Дарче түүнийг ирэх долоо хоногоос бэлтгэлдээ эргэн орох төлөвтэй байгааг мэдээллээ.
Тус багийн хувьд өмчлөлийн бүтцэд өөрчлөлт орж, Ник Леопард тэргүүтэй хөрөнгө оруулагчид багийн 15 хувийг эзэмших болсныг NHL албан ёсоор баталсан байна. Өдгөө 30 нас хүрч буй Ник Леопард болон Дэвид Шуман нарын хувьцаа эзэмших эрхийг лигийн зүгээс зөвшөөрсөн нь энэ зун шийдэгдсэн чухал ажил болжээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
TORONTO — The most surprised person to learn that Victor Eklund made the Islanders roster out of camp might have been Victor Eklund himself.
Even late in the preseason, once it became an open secret that he’d made the team, Eklund didn’t let himself get caught up in it.
So when he was told he’d be with the Islanders as they opened the season on Wednesday here in Toronto with a 2-1 loss to the Leafs, he felt the full weight of the accomplishment.
“It was kind of a shock,” Eklund told The Post. “I just tried to play to my best every day. I didn’t feel like I was safe at any time.”
Ironic, given that less than an hour before that conversation, general manager Mathieu Darche had described the decision by calling it the obvious thing to do.
But while Eklund came into camp as an underdog to make the roster, his inclusion was the obvious move by the end of it. His play, combined with the spot opened up by Mat Barzal’s injury, made it so.
Eklund ultimately skated 11:38 in his first meaningful NHL minutes — his debut last year came in a meaningless Game 82 — getting thrown straight into the fire as Toronto coach Jim Hiller matched his top line of Auston Matthews, Kirill Marchenko and Jack Roslovic with Eklund’s line.
Unsurprisingly given that context, it took him some time to look comfortable, and Eklund sat the final 7:34 as Pete DeBoer cut down his bench. The Islanders’ coach, though, still had good things to say about the rookie’s performance.
“I thought he got better as the game went on,” DeBoer said. “… He had a couple looks too. He could’ve scored. I had no problem with his game at all.”
Mat Barzal (left kneecap) has made “really, really good progress,” according to general manager Mathieu Darche, and is expected to begin skating “early next week at the latest.”
Darche indicated the Islanders “took a step back” from the original timeline, which indicated Barzal would begin skating now, but continued to project optimism.
Once Barzal does start skating, the next step is to make sure his knee still has no inflammation, and the Islanders can move forward from there.
Long Island resident Nick Leopard, the founder and CEO of Accordion, an AI-focused financial consulting firm is the lead investor of the group that bought a 15 percent share in the team, The Post confirmed.
According to Sports Business Journal, which first reported Leopard’s identity, both he and David Shuman, whose minority stake was announced by the Islanders in late August, have been approved by the NHL.
