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.
