Joel Eriksson Ek (last name sometimes stylized as Eriksson-Ek, born 29 January 1997) is a Swedish professional ice hockey player who is a centre for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Born and raised in Sweden, Eriksson Ek played junior hockey for Färjestad BK in the J18 Elit and J20 Nationell league. He made his professional debut as a teenager with Färjestad BK during the 2014–15 SHL season. Eriksson Ek earned praise from hockey pundits throughout the season and entered the draft as one of the highest ranked international skaters. He was ultimately taken 20th overall by the Wild in the 2015 NHL entry draft. He did not immediately join the Wild, instead returning to Sweden and recording 15 points during the 2015–16 SHL season.
Eriksson Ek made his NHL debut with the Wild during the 2016–17 season and later became the first teenager in franchise history to record three assists in one game. Known for his strong two-way play, Eriksson Ek has established himself as a reliable centreman for the Wild, contributing both offensively and defensively. Over the years, he has become known for his physicality, defensive prowess, and ability to contribute points. Starting during the 2019–20 season, Eriksson Ek began playing on a line with Jordan Greenway and Marcus Foligno, which was aptly referred to as the GREEF line. They consistently found success and were considered the Wild's top shutdown line before Greenway was traded.
Internationally, Eriksson Ek has represented his home country Sweden at both the junior and senior levels, winning gold once at the 2017 IIHF World Championship.
Eriksson Ek was born on 29 January 1997, in Karlstad, Sweden, to Clas Eriksson and Anna Ek. He comes from a hockey playing family: his father Clas played with Färjestad BK for 13 seasons and his brother Olle was taken by the Anaheim Ducks in the 2017 NHL entry draft. Growing up, Eriksson Ek's favourite player was Peter Forsberg due to his playing skills as well as his dedication to the sport.
Growing up in Sweden, Eriksson Ek played junior hockey for Färjestad BK in the J18 Elit and J20 Nationell league. He split the 2014–15 season between Färjestad BK's junior team in the J20 Nationell league and their senior team in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). While playing in the SHL as a minor, Eriksson Ek attended Karlstad Fria Läroverk for his high school education. Leading up to the 2015 NHL entry draft, Eriksson Ek was ranked 22nd among all international skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau's mid-season ranking. In the SHL, Eriksson Ek scored four goals and two assists for six points while he scored 21 goals and 32 points through 25 games for Farjestad’s junior team. In the middle of his rookie season in the SHL, Eriksson Ek was extended on a first team contract for a further three years with Färjestad BK on 12 January 2015. Eriksson Ek earned praise by hockey pundits throughout the season, entering the draft as the fourth-highest rated international skater. Several hockey analysts theorized that Eriksson Ek would be chosen 19th overall by the Detroit Red Wings, becoming their first Swedish forward drafted in the first round. He was eventually drafted in the first round, 20th overall, by the Minnesota Wild and signed to a three-year, entry-level contract worth $2.775 million. Rather than start playing with the Wild at once, Eriksson Ek returned to Sweden for the 2015–16 season where he accumulated 15 points with Färjestad BK.
Following his second SHL season, Eriksson Ek attended the Wild's training camp ahead of the 2016–17 season, where he was paired with Jason Pominville and Jason Zucker. He recorded one assist and 10 shots on goal through five preseason games before being re-assigned to the Wild's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Iowa Wild, to start the season. Part of the reason for his assignment was due to Wild's salary cap issues and his immigration papers needing approval. As his immigration paperwork had yet to be approved, he was not expected to make his AHL debut immediately following the assignment. He eventually made his debut with the Iowa Wild on 18 October against the Grand Rapids Griffins and scored his first goal with the team that night. He was recalled back to the NHL the following game. Eriksson Ek made his NHL debut on 22 October 2016, against the New Jersey Devils, where he became the seventh rookie in franchise history to score his first career NHL goal in his debut game. Following the game, head coach Bruce Boudreau praised him for being a responsible player. Over his first four games with the Wild, Eriksson Ek tallied four more points and became the first teenager in Wild history to record three assists in one game on 26 October. However, after his first four games, he would then go pointless in his next five. After two games as a healthy scratch, Eriksson Ek was returned to Färjestad BK on 17 November, thus preserving all three years on his rookie contract. Over 26 regular-season games with the Farjestad BK, Eriksson Ek recorded eight goals and eight assists for 16 points and added three goals and three assists for six points over seven SHL playoff games. On 28 March, Eriksson Ek returned to the Minnesota Wild for the remainder of the 2016–17 season. Eriksson Ek stepped into a primarily bottom-six role upon rejoining the team and finished the regular season with three goals and four assists for seven points over 15 games. As the Wild qualified for the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs, Eriksson Ek made his postseason debut during their first round series against the St. Louis Blues. He made his debut in Game 1 of the series, where he registered three shots on goal in 11:04 minutes of ice time. He went pointless over three games in the Stanley Cup playoffs as the Blues eliminated the Wild in five games.
During the 2017 offseason, Eriksson Ek trained alongside fellow Swedish NHL players Jonas Brodin, Oscar Klefbom, and Marcus Johansson while also adding 10 pounds (4.5 kg) of muscle. USA Today listed Eriksson Ek as one of the top rookies to know for the 2017–18 season and a possible candidate to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year. While participating in the NHL's Traverse City Prospects Tournament, Eriksson Ek suffered a mild injury that resulted in him missing the first few days of training camp. He recovered in time to play in the Wild's opening night game against the Detroit Red Wings, where he immediately found chemistry on the third line with Marcus Foligno and Chris Stewart. The trio scored the team's first two goals of the season 48 seconds apart in the Wild's opening night game against the Detroit Red Wings. His production slowed down over the next 10 games as he accumulated only three points while averaging nearly 14 minutes of ice time as the team's third-line centre. After failing to improve on his three points in the first 20 games of the season, Eriksson Ek was re-assigned to the Iowa Wild on 21 November. He recorded three goals and four assists for seven points over seven games with the Iowa Wild before being recalled back to the NHL on 6 December. Over the month of December, Eriksson Ek was paired on a line with Daniel Winnik but continued his scoring struggles. After only accumulating seven points over 42 games, Eriksson Ek was re-assigned to the AHL on 26 January. He added one assist over one game with the Iowa Wild before returning to the NHL level three days later. After going 50 games without a goal, Eriksson Ek broke his scoring drought in a 5–3 win over the New York Islanders on 19 February 2018. Eriksson Ek finished the 2017–18 regular season with six goals and 10 assists for 16 points over 75 games. During the Wild's first round 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs series against the Winnipeg Jets, Eriksson Ek was reunited with Foligno and Winnik on the fourth line. He tallied his first career post season point, an assist off of Matt Dumba's second period goal, in Game 3 to help the Wild win 6–2. However, this would prove to be his only point of the series as the Wild were eliminated in six games.