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Eklund awaits ’Gators: Central champions must face Pensacola’s stingy goalie
By Michael Krieg  - April 7, 2004

LAFAYETTE — The Louisiana IceGators worked all year to win the ECHL’s Central Division title.

Their reward — the No. 1 seed in the Central Division and date with one of the top goaltenders in the league, Brian Eklund.

Not only did Eklund set ECHL records with 2,194 saves and 3,724 minutes, but he also tied another league mark with 38 wins.

Eklund also enjoyed more success (7-3-0) against the IceGators than any other goaltender in the league.

Still, the IceGators have home ice advantage and a pretty good goaltender themselves in the best of five series.

“He’s really carried them on his shoulders all year long,” Louisiana coach Dave Farrish said of Eklund. “He’s had some great games and single handily won a few of them on his own. I’m sure they’re going to be relying on him.”

Louisiana will counter with All ECHL Second Team netminder, Derek Gustafson. Gustafson finished 28-14-0 and finished tied for the league lead with five shutouts. He also ranked second with a 2.09 goals against average and had a .927 save percentage.

Louisiana likes the match up.

“He has a lot of experience in the playoffs, being with the American League Championship team (Houston) last year,” Farrish said. “He’s been a pro now for three or four years and he’s ready for it too. He’s looking forward to the challenge.”

“They’ve got two great goalies (Frederic Cloutier) there,” Pensacola coach Todd Gordon said. “It’s going to be a tough test.”

Eklund, Pensacola’s MVP, was left off the ECHL All ECHL Team, but Louisiana is aware of his presence and importance to the Ice Pilots.

“I think if you look at their hockey club they rely heavily on their goaltender and I don’t think that’s going to change,” Louisiana captain Bobby Brown said. “They do have a hard working team, a good skating club. They forecheck well.

“Of course every game is going to be a battle, but if we continually pressure him and put pressure on him with bodies in front, I think we’ll have some success.”

While it’s true Pensacola relies on Eklund, it’s no different from any other team in the postseason. Most teams will go only as far as their goaltender takes them.

“I think goaltending is the key for any team in the playoffs,” Gordon said. “It doesn’t matter how good you are at any level. Your goaltending has to play unbelievable.”

Louisiana finally has a full lineup back for the first time in over a month. The IceGators have most of their players back from Houston and a deep bench should help the offensive attack.

“I definitely think if you look at all the games that he’s played and his record and his save percentage and everything he’s their guy,” Brown said. “He’s their go-to guy. They definitely have a lot of talent on the ice, but the bottom line is that they rely on him to bail them out of tough situations when they get into them.

“He’s been there for them all year. I don’t think they have any reason to believe that he won’t be there in the playoffs. It’s just one of those things where he’s solved us a few times during the regular season, but we’ve got a full line up and a full boat ready to go. We’re just going to have to make sure that we keep peppering him.”

From Tampa Bay Online
By ERIK ERLENDSSON - April 6, 2004

TAMPA - The last time Brian Eklund worked out on the ice with the Lightning, he was nursing a sore neck after an errant puck struck the area around his collar bone.

From ECHL This Week (Weekly League Press Release) - March 29, 2004
Pensacola's Eklund Nears Season Win Record

Brian Eklund of Pensacola picked up his 36th win of the season on March 28 at Texas and has moved into a tie for second place for most wins in a season by an ECHL goaltender. The ECHL record is held by Mark Michaud, who won 38 games for Hampton Roads in 1993-94. Eklund is tied with Kirk Daubenspeck (36 wins for South Carolina in 2002-03), Jan Lasak (36 wins for Hampton Roads in 1999-2000),
Doug Bonner (36 wins for Louisiana in 1997-98) and Marc Delorme (36 wins for Louisiana in 1996-97).

Eklund is 36-17-7 with a goals against average of 3.03 and a save percentage of .921 while appearing in 60 of Pensacola's 68 games. Pensacola hosts Texas on March 30 before playing at Louisiana on April 1, at Mississippi on April 2 and at Columbus on April 3.

Selected in the seventh round (226th overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft and under NHL contract with the Lightning, Eklund leads the ECHL with 3,600 minutes which ranks him second behind Michaud, who played 3,723 minutes for Hampton Roads in 1993-94. The 6-5 and 210-pound Eklund leads the league with 2,114 saves and the season save record (1,831 by Michaud in 1993-94) on March 9.

From Tampa Bay Online
By ERIK ERLENDSSON - March 28, 2004

Getting to [Know] Brian Eklund
By Jeremy Berger - Pensacola News Journal - March 26, 2004

About Eklund

BORN: May 24, 1980 in Braintree, Mass.

SIZE: 6-foot-5, 210 pounds.

POSITION: Goaltender.

CATCHES: Left.

HOW ACQUIRED: Assigned by the Tampa Bay Lightning.

This Season --- 34 wins, 16 losses, 7 shootout/overtime losses, 2.96 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in 57 games.
2002-03: 10 wins, 6 losses, 3.66 GAA and .896 save percentage in 19 games with the Ice Pilots; 1 win, 1.00 GAA and .974 save percentage in 1 game with Springfield (AHL).

PNJ: How did you get your start playing hockey?

EKLUND: I pretty much grew up in a hockey rink. One of my uncles was only about 10 years older than me, so I watched him play growing up. I went to the same high school he did and just kind of followed in his footsteps.

PNJ: You were a successful high school player. What high school did you go to?

EKLUND: Archbishop Williams High School. State finalist three years in a row. We won state my junior year and lost in the finals the other two years. I played junior varsity my freshman year and then started on the varsity my last three.

PNJ: When did you first start playing goal?

EKLUND: That's a weird one. My dad would probably give you a different story, but my dad didn't want me to play goal. He said it was too expensive and the goalies had to be the best skaters on the team. (laughs) I don't know if that's true or not, but he said (that) once I became the best player on my team he'd give me a shot. Well, after about two or three years of practices and early-morning skates, which I can't thank him enough for, I ended up being the best player on the team. I played half a year of goal and I loved it. I was only 10 or 11 years old when I first started playing it, and I was 13 or 14 when I started playing it full time.

PNJ: You went to Brown University. What drove that decision in regards to playing collegiate hockey instead of junior hockey?

EKLUND: Growing up in the United States, it's very different in Canada. Especially growing up in Boston with so much college hockey around, that's what you strive for, to play college hockey. Nothing against junior hockey. It's awesome hockey. But growing up watching college hockey, it's always on your mind and something you want to be a part of.

PNJ: You did, in fact, earn your degree. What was your major?

EKLUND: Biology, technically, and I fulfilled my pre-med requirements.

PNJ: So you'd be a doctor if hockey hadn't worked out?

EKLUND: Not necessarily. The fact I took bio wasn't because I was really interested in it. It just came natural to me. The real reason to go to Brown was to get that degree. That piece of paper was important to me and my mother.

PNJ: What other hobbies do you enjoy outside of hockey? Are you one of the golfers on the team?

EKLUND: I am not a golfer. You can quote me on that. (laughs) My time is consumed by sleeping and eating. I go home, sleep and eat, wake up and feel good. It sounds lazy, but it's what keeps me going.

PNJ: How difficult is it mentally to be a goaltender? How do you block out bad and/or deflected goals?

EKLUND: It's a weird sport, a weird game. You have to be a weird guy to pull it off. You hear about goalies being weird, but that's because you worry about the now and not what just happened. It makes a big difference. At the beginning of the year, I'd let in a goal and beat myself up for it. Mentally it's something I've had to develop. Especially in one-goal games, I'd be able to tell you the score, but you really don't feel the pressure. Every puck drop, it's like the first drop of the game, and that makes a big difference.

PNJ: Any game-day routine to get you in the comfort zone?

EKLUND: Nothing when I'm away from the rink. When I get here, I relax. Play with a tennis ball, listen to music. Nothing too strenuous. Just something to put me in the right frame of mind.

PNJ: What goalies did you respect growing up?

EKLUND: I would say Felix Potvin. I collected all his cards and posters. And now he's with the Bruins, who I grew up loving. (Patrick) Roy, no matter what kind of mistake he made, he didn't care he was so arrogant. Olaf Kolzig, how big he is and how square he is. Andy Moog was a competitor every single night. You take bits and pieces of a lot of goalies and decide this is what I want to mold myself into.

PNJ: You have X-Men on your mask. How did you get the nickname 'X' and 'X-Man'?

EKLUND: It started when I was in camp in Tampa last year. Everyone called me Ekie and things like that. Kevin Hodson, who played with Detroit and who was with Tampa at the beginning of last year, I hung out with him a lot. He called me X-man. Even when I was a kid, I wanted to have a helmet that was cool. When I heard him say that, I thought maybe I found something that worked for me.

PNJ: Finally, how much do you enjoy living in Pensacola?

EKLUND: I think the city is beautiful. Being the first time away from home, I couldn't ask for anything more. It's small and you can get everything done within the city limits. We live in a beautiful area, on the beach. It's really nice. I like it a lot.

IceGators’ comeback attempt falls short
By Michael Krieg, The [Lafayette] Advertiser - March 21, 2004

LAFAYETTE — It just seems as though nothing will slow down Pensacola’s Brian Eklund.

A tired Louisiana IceGators (47-18-2) gave it their best shot Saturday, but Eklund continued to do what he’s done all season for the Ice Pilots — stand on his head.

Eklund turned aside 51 shots as Pensacola (35-21-9) held off a furious Louisiana rally in the game’s final 10 minutes and held on for a 3-2 victory before 3,163 fans in the Cajundome.

No save was as big as Eklund’s 51st, when he turned away Bobby Brown’s one-timer from the left point with a pad save just before the buzzer.

“Brian Eklund showed why he should be MVP of the league this year,” Pensacola coach Todd Gordon said. “He’s our MVP.”

Eklund improved to 34-16-7 with another 50 plus save performance. He already has the ECHL record for saves in a season with five games remaining in the regular season.

“We had the play set up,” Louisiana coach Dave Farrish said. “Everything worked the way it was supposed to except for the last result. It was a great save by the goaltender, who really was the difference in the game tonight.”

The Ice Pilots took a 3-0 lead into the third period, but the IceGators rallied despite a short bench.

Bruce Richardson started the rally with a power play tally at the 10:22 mark of the third period. Konstantin Kalmikov delivered a pass across the slot to Richardson and beat Eklund with a wrister to the stick side.

Jamie Johnson capitalized on a Pensacola turnover to cut the deficit to one at the 17:06 mark with a backhanded shot.

Louisiana played with just 13 skaters and had only 12 in Friday’s loss to Mississippi.

“I wasn’t happy (with the rally),” Gordon said. “We’re playing against a real tired hockey team. Louisiana’s been short guys and they’ve been playing a ton of games (11 in 16 nights).

“With all the call ups they’ve got it’s unbelievable where they’re at. We get the lead and then a couple of lazy plays by us in the third period get them right back into it. That bothers me, but we’ll take the two points as hard as it is to win in this rink. We’ll take it now while you guys are down, because as soon as you get all your guys back you’re going to be really strong. We need the points right now.”

Farrish pulled Derek Gustafson (26-12-0, 28 saves) with in the end, but the IceGators couldn’t get the equalizer with the extra attacker.

“Obviously, we’re very short staffed,” Farrish said. “Again tonight we had a hard time getting some traffic in front of him (Eklund), but we found a way to get a couple of goals late in the game. I think we’ll be able to solve him once we get our full line up back in order.”

The IceGators came out firing in the first period outshooting the Ice Pilots 16-7, but began to wear down in the second.

Pensacola took advantage and claimed a 3-0 lead to take control of the game. The Ice Pilots started the scoring 1:33 into the second period behind a power play tally from Peter Fregoe.

Corey Neilson fired a shot from the point and Fregoe re-directed it by Gustafson, who reached back with his glove hand but was too late.

Pensacola made it 2-0 12:44 into the period off a Louisiana turnover deep in the IceGators’ zone. Tyler Beechey stole the puck behind the net and delivered a pass to Dwayne Hay between the circles.

Hay whistled a wrist shot that beat Gustafson to the stick side.

Newly acquired Eric Naud, made it 3-0 at the 16:58 mark. Naud skated down the left wing on a rush and ripped a wrist shot from the left circle that skimmed over Gustafson’s far shoulder.

“I thought they were done, but we started turning the puck over and sitting back a little bit,” Gordon said.

“We’re up 3-0 and their bench is so short, but they’ve got so much talent they can score at any time and you’ve got to be on your toes. We made a couple of lazy plays and it almost cost us the hockey game.”

“The guys are extremely fatigued right now,” Farrish said. “I think they’re so tired, they don’t even know how tired they are.”

The IceGators has several scoring chances in the period, but Eklund stood tall. Eklund turned away Brown twice on a power play from point blank range and later denied Richardson on the same power play.

Eklund also stopped Brown’s short-handed attempt at the end of the period, with Pensacola on a two-man advantage.

NHL thinking shootout
By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY - February 12, 2004

Like many, Brian McKenna considered himself a traditionalist and a shootout opponent when he became commissioner of the East Coast Hockey League.

"Having been involved in this league for several years now, I see now that the shootout has been very well received by our fans," McKenna says.

McKenna's conversion is interesting now that the NHL is asking the American Hockey League next season to test the use of a shootout to decide a contest after a five-minute, four-on-four overtime. Though anti-shootout sentiment remains significant in the NHL, the pro-shootout group has grown the past couple of years as the NHL has looked to jazz up its game.

"Down here in the South, the shootout is what people come to see," said Pensacola Ice Pilots goaltender Brian Eklund, a Tampa Bay Lightning prospect. "Everyone is electrified the entire time."

During a shootout every fan is standing, Eklund said, "and everyone is chanting for certain players to come on the ice."

"A shootout rivals fighting for the two most exciting points of a hockey game," Eklund said.

Opponents say a shootout is simply an unnatural or contrived way to determine a winner. They compare it to ending a basketball game with a free throw contest.

"We find that players really enjoy it because they get a chance to be a hero," McKenna said. "They get to go one-on-one against the goalie, to show off their skills in front of, in our case, 5,000 fans."

Opponents worry that if a shootout rule passes for the regular season, someday it could replace the NHL tradition of long playoff overtimes. In international play, shootouts decide winners.

Former NHL goaltender Darren Eliot would prefer to extend four-on-four overtime rather than go to a shootout. "To give up anything in the standings based on something as one-dimensional as a shootout seems to go counter to the whole culture of the game," he says.

Hockey's Future AHL and ECHL Prospect Report (On Tampa Bay Lightning Organization)
By Timothy Bennett - January 30, 2004

Affiliate woes push Eklund up goalie list By Damian Christodero 
St. Petersburg Times - January 28, 2004

PITTSBURGH - Had goalie Nikolai Khabibulin been seriously hurt Monday when he was hit on the right arm by a slap shot (he sustained a bruise), the Lightning would have called up Brian Eklund from ECHL Pensacola.

Eklund is a fine young goalie, and goaltenders coach Jeff Reese said "he has a chance" to make it in the NHL. But he is not the third-best goaltender in Tampa Bay's system.

That is Fredrik Norrena. But Feaster said because Tampa Bay does not have an AHL affiliate, he did not try to sign the Finn last summer even after his agent said Norrena wanted to come to North America.

"We don't have our own affiliate, so there is no place to put him, so we didn't pursue that," Feaster said Tuesday. "If we get our house in order as far as an American league affiliate for next year, it's something we would take a look at."

Feaster said the plan, should either Khabibulin or Grahame be hurt, is to call up Eklund as a backup. If however, the injury were serious and meant extended recovery time, Feaster said he would consider acquiring a veteran.

That, he said, would create its own problem. Feaster said when the injured goalie got healthy, Tampa Bay would keep its three veterans on the roster because "we wouldn't have an (AHL) spot for the guy we acquired."

That also applies to day-to-day operations. "We don't have the ability to go out and say, "Let's acquire and let's sign a veteran that we think can be a legitimate third guy because we don't have any place to put him,' " Feaster said.

WHERE'S GEORGE?: Goalie Evgeny Konstantinov, nicknamed George, is with Pensacola and has fallen behind Eklund on the depth chart. At one time Konstantinov was believed to be Khabibulin's heir apparent.

"It's a tough one to figure because he has all the talent," head scout Jake Goertzen said. "It's just not coming together for him. He loses focus at times."

Blades pepper Ice Pilots, still lose
By Andy Kent, Naples News - January 28, 2004

ESTERO — If ever a scoreboard was not representative of what happened on the ice, it was Tuesday night at TECO Arena.

Despite firing a season-high 55 shots on goal, the Florida Everblades were beaten 3-2 in a shootout by the Pensacola Ice Pilots. By ending regulation in a 2-2 tie, the Everblades (23-14-8) picked up a point in the standings.

Florida hosts South Carolina in back-to-back games this weekend, with Friday night's game starting at 7:30 as well as Saturday's.

Pensacola's Jamie Herrington, the eighth shooter in the shootout, was credited with the game-winning goal when he beat Florida goaltender Rob Zepp up high. It was Pensacola's fourth goal of the shootout.

But the star of the night definitely was Ice Pilots goalie Brian Eklund, who made 53 saves to give Pensacola (21-15-5) a chance. He made saves from just about every conceivable angle.

"He played outstanding for them," Everblades head coach Gerry Fleming said. "He made some big saves in the first, and in the second and third he gave them an opportunity to win. They were fortunate enough to capitalize on their opportunities."

Florida didn't score until the 11:41 mark of the second period when rookie Chris Heisten cleaned up a Brandon Coalter rebound.

Less than a minute later, Jay Legault scored from just above the crease off assists from Carl Mallette and Chad LaRose to make it 2-0. Mallette fed Legault from behind the net.

"They're a good team and I've got to give them a lot of credit," a modest Eklund said. "They were playing with four defensemen and they came at us hard. They kept coming at us the whole game, but I felt good out there. They made me work for it."

In the third period, Pensacola hit paydirt early at the 1:34 mark when Aaron Phillips took advantage of a scrambling Zepp with his back to the action. Phillips wristed a shot that came back off the boards to him to cut the deficit in half.

Eklund came up with three big saves moments later to keep it at 2-1, and right before the midway point, his teammates thanked him by tying the game.

Tyler Beechy cleaned up the rebound of Kent Sauer's shot at the 8:50 mark and beat a diving Zepp. At that point, the Everblades owned a 41-20 advantage in shots.

The excitement was kicked up a notch in the final 10 minutes as Zepp matched Eklund with a handful of clutch saves on odd-man rushes. And to close out the period, Eklund made an incredible save of a Brian McCullough point-blank shot to send it to overtime.

"All I could say about that one was, whoa," Eklund said.

Keith Anderson, McCullough and Gray Shaneberger scored on Eklund for the Everblades, but it wasn't enough.

McCullough, Mallette and Chad LaRose combined to fire 25 shots on Eklund.

"He was incredible in there tonight," LaRose said. "We couldn't get anything by him."

Eklund steadfast in Pilots' win, Pensacola goalie stops 53 shots in shootout victory
By Ed Reed - Gannett News Service - January 28, 2003

ESTERO - Brian Eklund is a brick wall.

At least, that's what he was to the Florida Everblades on Tuesday night. The Ice Pilots goaltender stopped 53 shots in regulation and held on throughout overtime and a shootout as Pensacola went on to a 3-2 victory.

"All I can say is, "Whoa,"' Eklund said. "You don't stop and think about anything. You pretty much just zone out, and it comes at you and you keep playing. It's just like you were a kid and went out there and had fun."

Eklund must have been having the time of his life, then, as the Everblades (23-14-8) set a season high by firing 55 shots on goal.

Except for a 42-second span in the second period when Florida scored bothits goals, Eklund was unbeatable.

"It's always discouraging when you play that well and run into a hotgoalie," Florida coach Gerry Fleming said. "We ran into a wall tonight."

After going down 2-0 in the second period, the Ice Pilots pulled within one just 1:34 into the third.

A flurry in front had Florida goalie Rob Zepp scrambling and out of position. Aaron Phillips took advantage, burying a shot behind Zepp - literally, because the goalie was looking the wrong way - to cut his team's deficit to 2-1.

Tyler Beechey pulled Pensacola even when he slid a rebound under Zepp, whowas face down on the ice, at 8:50. Although the two teams would combine for43 shots in the final period, 22 from the Ice Pilots, there would be no moregoals.

In the shootout, the Blades did manage to beat Eklund three times, butPensacola beat Zepp four times, with Jamie Herrington scoring the deciding goal.

"Going into (the shootout), as long as these guys got me a goal, I knew Icould get the win. But they kept coming at me in the shootout, so theyreally made me work for it this time," Eklund said. "They really did."

Pensacola improves to 21-15-5 overall and 4-2 against Florida this season.

Prospect Profile: Brian Eklund :: By Sarah Garnett
January 23, 2003 - Tampabaylightning.com

This outstanding 23-year-old goalie for the Pensacola Ice Pilots of the East Coast Hockey League has numbers that would impress any scout. As of mid -January   Eklund was second in the league in wins (17), second in minutes played (1639) and leads the league in saves with 951.

This goalie does not have a typical hockey background, he has a bachelors degree in biology from the prestigious Brown University. “A school like that opened doors,” commented Eklund.

Eklund was drafted 226^th overall at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft. At training camp Eklund had the opportunity to work one on one with Tampa Bay Lightning Assistant Coach Jeff Reese. “I loved it, I learned a lot. I have never learned so much so quickly,” said Eklund, “Resse showed me a way to be more efficient, I can’t thank him enough.”

Eklund got reassigned to the ECHL where he gives his all every game. “You can never count out the possibility of being called up. Crazy things happen, people get traded, people get hurt,” said Eklund.

Coach Reese shared the same admiration for Eklunds play both during training camp and throughout this season. “He has made great strides this season and has been absolutely outstanding for his team. He is a big goalie who moves well and that is a rare combination.”

Stay tuned to see this Massachusetts native in a Lightning uniform.

Ice Pilot Goaltender Eklund Scores Goal
December 8, 2003 - ECHL.com

For the second straight season an ECHL goaltender has scored a goal as Pensacola's Brian Eklund became the seventh goaltender in league history to score a goal on Friday. Eklund's goal was scored at 5:35 of the first period when the puck got by a Mississippi defenseman and rolled the length of the ice into the Sea Wolves goal, which was empty as the result of an upcoming penalty call, to give Pensacola a 2-0 lead. Selected in the seventh round (226th overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Eklund was the last player to touch the puck for Pensacola and received credit for the unassisted goal. Eklund stopped two of four shooters in the shootout and had four saves in overtime and 50 saves overall in the 5-4 shootout loss at Mississippi.

Under contract to Tampa Bay of the National Hockey League, Eklund is 12-4-1 with a 2.64 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in 17 games for Pensacola. Eklund, who was named the ITECH HOCKEY ECHL Saver of the Week for November 24-30, leads the ECHL with 602 saves while ranking second in wins with 12 and fifth in minutes with 1,024.

The last ECHL goaltender to score a goal was Mike Smith of the Lexington Men O' War on October 22, 2002. With Lexington leading 1-0 late in the third period, Dayton dumped the puck behind the net where Smith gained control and flipped it out of the zone. The puck hit in the center face off circle and then slid untouched into the empty net at 19:04. Smith's goal was featured on ESPN's NHL 2Night.

Corwin Saurdiff of Hampton Roads became the first ECHL goaltender to score a goal, accomplishing the feat during the 1994-95 season, and Charlotte's Nick Vitucci, Erie's Olie Sundstrom and South Carolina's Sean Gauthier all accomplished the feat during the 1995-96 season. Toledo's Mark Bernard scored a goal on March 27, 2001 against Johnstown.

Pensacola's Eklund Named ITECH HOCKEY ECHL Saver of the Week
December 2, 2003 - ECHL.com

PRINCETON, N.J. - Pensacola goaltender Brian Eklund is the ITECH HOCKEY ECHL Saver of the Week for November 24-30.

Under contract to Tampa Bay of the National Hockey League, Eklund was 3-0-0 with a 1.96 goals against average and a .953 save percentage as Pensacola went 3-1-0, finishing the week at 10-7-1 and in third place in the Central Division.

Selected in the seventh round (226th overall) by Tampa Bay in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, Eklund made 30 saves in a 4-3 win against Mississippi on Tuesday. On Friday, he made 43 saves in regulation and seven saves in overtime before stopping all six shooters in a 2-1 shootout win against Louisiana. The 6-5 and 200-pound Eklund closed out the week making 44 saves in a 3-2 win against Mississippi.

Eklund is 10-4-0 with a 2.73 goals against average and a .926 save percentage in 14 games for Pensacola. He is tied for the ECHL lead in shootout percentage with 1.000 (6-for-6) while ranking second with 10 wins and third with 475 saves.

In his first professional season in 2002-03, Eklund was 10-6-0 with a 3.66 goals against average and a .896 save percentage in 19 games for Pensacola and was 1-0-0 with a 1.00 goals against average and a .974 save percentage in one game with Springfield of the American Hockey League.

Born in Braintree, Mass., Eklund played four seasons at Brown University appearing in 48 career games for the Bears. He was named ECAC Goaltender of the Week three times and also was a two-time ECAC All-Academic selection.

Runners Up: Derek Gustafson, Louisiana (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .979 save pct.), Mike Valley, Peoria (2-0-0, 0.50 GAA, .980 save pct.) and Nick Boucher, Wheeling (2-0-0, 1.15 GAA, .960 save pct.).

Also Nominated: Lance Mayes (Alaska), Scott Stirling (Atlantic City), Scott Meyer (Charlotte), Tyler Masters (Cincinnati), Olivier Michaud (Columbus), Andrew Penner (Dayton), Daniel Berthiaume (Greensboro), Scott Kabotoff (Greenville), Michael Garnett (Gwinnett), Cory Campbell (Johnstown), Brent Krahn (Las Vegas), Greg Gardner (Mississippi), Cody Rudkowsky (Reading), David Brumby (South Carolina), Jason Cugnet (Texas), and Chris Houle (Trenton).

Eklund Named One of Hockey's Future's Top ECHL Prospects for November 2003
http://www.hockeysfuture.com/article.php?sid=6456

Brian Eklund was just named the ECHL Saver of the Week for the week of November 24-30. Eklund is currently 10-4-0 with a 2.73 GAA and a .926 save percentage with Pensacola. Eklund’s rights belong to the Tampa Bay Lightning (selected in the 7th round of the 2000 draft), and this is his second professional season, after attending Brown University. Eklund is a huge goalie (6’5" 200 lbs.) who takes up a lot of space, but he isn’t very quick. He sure seems to be holding his own.

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