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Victor Eklund's persistence won out, as he and Swedish teammate Anton Frondell enter NHL draft
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Swedish teammates Victor Eklund, left, and Anton Frondell address reporters while attending the NHL pre-draft combine in Buffalo, N.Y., June 6, 2025. The two played together for Djurgarden, in Sweden Tier 2 pro league, and both projected to be first-round picks in the NHL draft this weekend. - photo by AP Photo/John Wawrow
Victor Eklund refused to take no for an answer in badgering his Tier 2 Swedish league coach Robert Kimby to have him play on the same line as long-time friend Anton Frondell last season. “Yeah, I think I told him 10 times,” Eklund recalled at the NHL pre-draft combine in Buffalo earlier this month. “And he was like, `Yeah, yeah, yeah, I don’t know.’” And then, one day after the Christmas break the two got their wish in eventually helping Djurgarden win a championship, and propel the pair to the top of central scouting’s rankings of international skaters.