Oliver Ekman-Larsson is 34 and outproducing players half his age at the World Championship
Photo credit: Stan Szeto-Imagn Images
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is proving that he can still be an elite offensive player at 34 years old and his IIHF World Championship performance bodes well for next season.
Ekman-Larsson is making sure Sweden has a shot at winning the IIHF World Championships with seven points in four games. He's looking even sharper and faster than he did last year, and that means the Toronto Maple Leafs have a bit more hope if they want to compete in 2026-27.
While the majority of the Maple Leafs players are enjoying their offseason, there are still a few guys who are playing meaningful hockey. Easton Cowan is helping the Marlies towards a Calder Cup meanwhile John Tavares, Morgan Rielly, and Joseph Woll are at the IIHF World Championships representing Team Canada and Team USA respectively.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson has three-assist outburst and is crushing the competition at the World Championships
But it's Oliver Ekman-Larsson who is absolutely stealing the show. With a three assist game on Tuesday he pushed his tournament total to seven points in four games and he looks even better than he did last season - an amazing sign for this upcoming year.
His shot looks as deadly as ever and for a Toronto team that desperately lacked a true point shot last year, it's a true blessing. If the team can add a guy like Darren Raddysh to add even more firepower, we could see a brand new dynamic to the Auston Matthews era.
Last season Ekman-Larsson had 39 points in 78 games, which would be the highest point total since the 2018-19 season and the highest total of assists since 2015-16; he's turning back the clock in real-time.
Toronto's defensive corps put up a total of 132 points last season, and Ekman-Larsson's total accounted for 29.5% of that entire offensive output. To put that into perspective, Colorado had over 100 more points from the blueline includes 40-year old Brent Burns and a 34-year old Josh Manson.
If Ekman-Larsson can rekindle this form in the regular season, Toronto may be able to slot him into a top-pairing spot and see how he does running the offence over Morgan Rielly.
With two more round-robin games and a likely berth into the quarterfinals, there's even more of a chance for him to get ready for the season and give Toronto a massive leg up right from the get-go.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson is the veteran anchor a young Toronto blueline needs next season
If he keeps up this pace and there's no real reason to show that he can't, OEL is going to be a person who will be one of the anchors to steady Toronto through the Atlantic and get them into the 2026-27 postseason.
It's not just the offensive side of things that is going to be incredibly helpful, especially with a new group of faces coming in who may or may not be successful. But he's also adding 16 years of veteran experience and is going to be the best mentor possible for a guy like William Villeneuve as he makes the leap forward.
His leadership qualities are second to none; he's captaining Sweden after all; though it's that mentality combined with a genuine attitude and edge against the opponents is why he's managed such long and prosperous career.
With a new roster that is going to be built to win and built to win now, it's perfect timing then that Ekman-Larsson is proving that age is just a number and those who doubted him wrong. He doesn't have much time left in his career, so he's likely going to give it everything he has.
If so, then the Maple Leafs are in good hands because a motivated and hungry Ekman-Larsson could be the most dangerous version we've ever seen of him.
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