After taking a step forward in his development during the regular season, high expectations were put on Joel Eriksson Ek to shut down the likes of Elias Pettersson and company in the Minnesota Wild’s series against the Vancouver Canucks.
To put it simply, he failed to meet those expectations.
The Swedish center finally had a chance to silence the crowd in Minnesota that still brings up the fact that the Wild picked him over the hometown goal-scorer Brock Boeser. The 2015 20th overall pick was selected three picks in front of the Canucks winger and Burnsville native.