When the San Jose Sharks play the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, William Eklund will be on the team's fourth line, playing on the wing.

When the San Jose Sharks play the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, William Eklund will be on the team's fourth line, playing on the wing.

Due to Tomas Hertl's injury and eventual trade, Eklund has been the team's second-line center since three games before the All-Star break. He's shown flashes of making a difference on the offensive end, but his play has waffled recently, according to Sharks head coach David Quinn.

"It's been a tall task for him. Everybody wants to play in the center of the National Hockey League until they go through it and experience and go, woah, maybe this isn't what I thought it was gonna be," Quinn said. "It's unlike any other level. All these centermen, all these forwards, all they think about is, I want to go in the middle so I can play some offense and have the puck more. There's a lot more to it than that. It's a hard lesson to learn."

There were no special teams run-throughs at morning skate today, but when asked, Quinn said he wasn't sure if Eklund would remain on the powerplay.

Eklund has played in 66 out of 68 games this season and is one season removed from season-ending shoulder surgery. The 21-year-old has never played this many games in a single season. He played 62 games between the AHL and NHL last season. At 5'10, 181 lbs, the young Swede has been forced to play a physical game down the middle. Quinn believes there is some wear down physically and mentally for Eklund. 

"I think part of it might be the fact that he might be wearing down a little bit physically," Quinn said. "It's a long season, and he's not a big guy, and he was playing against everybody's top lines and pairings, which catches up to you. Like we've talked about, it's not easy to do."

Eklund has been playing center with Filip Zadina and Luke Kunin on his flanks, and while that line has been somewhat productive, there has been a slight letdown in driving play. He will slide back to the wing, which should take some defensive responsibility off his plate. 

Eklund is expected to be a big part of the Sharks' future, and while this demotion isn't great for his confidence, it will likely help relieve any added pressure he was feeling. He has two goals and three assists and has been -14 in his previous ten games.

While this situation isn't quite what the Anaheim Ducks have done with No. 2 overall pick Leo Carlsson, this should allow Eklund to get a slight break. 

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