There are a lot of things to be intrigued about with Minnesota Wild these days. The arrival of Kirill Kaprizov; the emergence of Kevin Fiala; and incoming prospects Matthew Boldy and Marco Rossi. Early into this season, there appears to be reason for further excitement because of the emergence of Joel Eriksson Ek.

Eriksson Ek has been a slow burn for fantasy owners in keeper and dynasty leagues. Many owners cut ties based on that slow progression. Those that kept the faith or saw an opportunity to buy low appear to be on the cusp to reaping the reward.

In his first year in 2016-17, Eriksson Ek teased the fantasy world with seven points in 15 games. Entering 2017-18 Eriksson Ek was listed as the Wild's number one prospect. Well, he really left fantasy owners deflated with six goals, 10 assists, 124 shots – 1.65/game, 134 hits – 1.78/game, 4.8 shooting percentage (SH%), and 12:47 of ice time (no power play time) in 75 games. Not the production owners expected.

In 2018-19 Eriksson Ek expectations remained high. Yet he only provided incremental increases leaving owners with further disappointment. He provided seven goals and seven assists in 58 games, a very slight increase in points per game from 0.21 to 0.24. Not really anything to write home about. His shots per game improved to 1.91 per game (156/82 game pace) as did his SH% to 6.3%. He also demonstrated he would continue to provide strong hit totals with 117 – 2.01/game. His ice time improved only slightly to 13:30 per game with no power play exposure of note (:10/game). That bitter tasting word "bust" slowly started to sting to the back of GM's throats.

In 2019-20 he saw a nice bump in ice time to 15:43 per game. He also provided a jump in production with eight goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 62 games, which put him on pace for 38 points or 0.47 points per game. With the increase in ice time, however, his shots per game dropped to 1.64 (102 in 62 games). His hits per game also dropped to 1.5 per game. His blocks did double to 43 from 21 and his SH% increased to 7.8%, so there were some peripheral give and take, but still no power-play time to his credit.

The growth to this point for Eriksson Ek had really been his two-way game. He is clearly developing into a strong, reliable two-way centre. His penalty-kill ice-time increased along with the organization's confidence in his defensive game from 1:05, 1:22, 2:00 to 2:14 this season. Unfortunately, outside of SIM leagues and stat-happy leagues, having a coach's confidence doesn't translate into fantasy success.

A lot changed during this past off-season in in his favor. Mikko Koivu signed with Columbus as a UFA and Eric Staal was traded to Buffalo. The Wild did bring in Nick Bjugstad to shore up the center position, but with the departure of the Wild's top two centers, Eriksson Ek has been given a real opportunity to take the next step. It has resulted in another increase in ice time to 16:43, and for the first time in his career, time on the second-unit power play (1:05 per game).  

Eriksson Ek entered 2020-21 season with 210 career NHL games played, or as the Dobber fantasy hockey world refers to it, smack dab on top of his breakout threshold. If you're a regular on the Dobber Forum, you would have read numerous times over the past ten days to not read too much into the first few games of a player's season and not to make knee jerk decisions. This is real good advice for players off to slow starts, especially stars. This advice changes when you see a player that has underwhelmed like Eriksson Ek has over the first three years of his career start off with five points and 18 shots in the first five games of the season. You have to act fast or you will miss out on what appears to be his breakout season.

The stat that really stands out after five games is his shots on goal. In the past three seasons, Eriksson Ek has had a game with five shots or more ten times – in total. To start this season, he has two and a third game with four. He should smash his previous 2.01 SOG/GP pace this season. He won't maintain this crazy 295 SOG pace, but even with regression, he should remain on a 200+ SOG pace.

The one stat that has increased year over year is his SH%. If he can improve on his 7.8% from last year and push a 200-plus SOG pace, Eriksson Ek could find himself in line for his first 20-goal season. This being a short season it may not actually take place, but the 20-goal pace remains in place.

Eriksson Ek is owned in only 27% of Fantrax leagues and 17% in Yahoo leagues. Early returns suggest he should be owned more than he currently is. A lot of leagues also still use +/- as a stat, and he sits at a plus-6.  A roster needing a bump in hits, shots, and +/- should consider taking a flier on Eriksson Ek. Most fantasy teams can use a depth player off the bench that will give 1.5 hits per game and 2-2.5 SOG per game.

Unlike Alex Iafallo who was covered last week here, Eriksson Ek has not demonstrated the same linear year-over-year offensive development and progression. It has been more of an up and down struggle. It hints at the possibility that Eriksson Ek won't have a real high offensive ceiling. With 66 points in his first 210 games, he likely tops out as a 60–65-point player (high ceiling) while spending the majority of his seasons hovering around 55. 

Right now, you add Eriksson Ek to round out your peripherals stats and hope the early breakout indicators are real. If the breakout is for real, you'll find yourself with a 35+ point player in this shortened season with potential for 140 shots and 100+ hits. There is still room for further increases to ice time and power-play time. He holds the hallmarks of being a sneaky under-the-radar add that other fantasy managers comment on later in the season.