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 Wednesday here in Toronto against the Maple 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.
