Fabian Zetterlund is back in San Jose.
For the first time since his shocking trade to the Ottawa Senators last Trade Deadline, Zetterlund will face the San Jose Sharks this Saturday.
Zetterlund spoke after Senators practice about how much he misses William Eklund, his current goal-scoring struggles in Ottawa (he has one goal in 20 games), the business of hockey, and defending Macklin Celebrini.
Zetterlund, on being back in San Jose:
I’m excited. It’s gonna be fun to play tomorrow. Like I said, I’m excited to be back, and I’m really, really pumped.
Zetterlund, on what he misses most about San Jose:
Eklund. (laughs)
Zetterlund, on the trade that sent him to Ottawa:
I mean, everything happened so quickly, you know? I got that call and didn’t really think that much. It was just, go home and pack my stuff. My phone was ringing the whole day while I was trying to prepare for the next thing. It happened so quickly, so you can’t really find a word for it.
Zetterlund, on entering the playoffs with Ottawa:
It’s a big thing. To play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, it’s one of the toughest, hardest, and most fun things to do. Everyone wants to play, everyone wants to win, so the playoffs is really fun hockey.
Zetterlund, on this season with Ottawa:
We all feel like we’re going good right now. We fit each other really well, and we just need to continue to do that. It’s a long season, a lot of games left, but if we do the right things on a daily basis like we always do—we’re a fun group, and we like to enjoy it together. When we do that, we know we’re gonna have success.
Zetterlund, on Lars Eller and Dylan Cozens:
[Lars] has been around in the league for years. He knows how to handle pressure and stuff out there. So definitely, it’s easy to play with him.
[Dylan’s] a tank out there. He’s driving the puck really well through the middle. He has a really good shot too, so he likes to use it, which is good. For me, I just have to be at the net front and screen the goalie.
Zetterlund, on playing San Jose tomorrow:
Just be ready. We’re going to be on our toes right from the hop and just play our game and everything will go well.
Zetterlund, on leaving the San Jose Sharks, particularly William Eklund, and his case for Eklund to make Sweden’s Olympic team:
It’s sad to leave one of your brothers. At the end of the day, it’s business too. It’s not the last time we’re going to see each other. We kind of grew from that. We hung out over the summer a few times too, so it’s fine right now.
He’s always been a guy who wants more. He’s a competitive guy that likes to compete out there and never give up on anything. It’s fun to watch him out there.
He’s a great player. You can trust him all over the ice and I mean, he has a great place on the team.
We try to talk a lot. It’s hard, we play on different schedules, as well as the time change and stuff. It’s a little bit different, but we try to talk a lot if we can.
Eklund did tell me that he and Zetterlund will be getting together tonight for dinner and just to hang out. Both are excited to see each other as the last time they did was over the summer. #SJSharks #GoSensGo
— Max Miller (@Real_Max_Miller) November 21, 2025
Zetterlund, on what a call to the Olympics would mean to him:
I would be excited. It would be one of the coolest experiences in my life. To play in the Olympics would be really fun.
If I’m there and he’s there, that will be great. I hope Sweden wins.
Zetterlund, on working towards producing more for the Sens, and if he draws on his early struggles with the San Jose Sharks for inspiration:
I want to score more, but at the end of the day, I’m a human being that has feelings too. I just wanted to go out there and play my game—if I do that right, I know everything will come, so I’m not panicking or anything. We still get the wins done, and I try to do my best out there to help the team win games. That’s my main focus, and everything else will come.
Zetterlund, on how the Senators can play against Macklin Celebrini:
I know how, but I will just tell that to the guys on our team. Players like him, you got to be close to him. You have to take away time and space from him. We know he can shoot, he can do it all out there, so we just have to be close to him
Zetterlund, on how it was switching to a team in playoff contention last season:
I was excited, for sure. It was fun to win games. I mean, that’s why everyone plays—we want to win, and when we don’t it’s not fun. It was fun for sure to get to a team that was pushing for the playoffs, got into the playoffs, and played playoff hockey.
Special thanks to Maddie Dutra for her help transcribing!