Aaron Ekblad

Aaron Ekblad
Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 216 lb (98 kg)
NHL Team	Florida Panthers
Nationality	Canadian
Born	(1996-02-07)February 7, 1996, Windsor, Ontario Canada
NHL Draft	1st overall, 2014 Florida Panthers
Pro Career	2011 – present

Aaron Ekblad (born February 7, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, and an alternate captain for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Ekblad was selected first overall in the , and he was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Amateur

In 2010–11, Ekblad competed for the Sun County Panthers minor midget AAA team in Belle River, Ontario. He had 34 points in 30 regular season games and added 21 points in 18 playoff games. He captained the team and lead them to an alliance championship.

Ekblad’s application to be the only player born in 1996 in the draft was approved unanimously, after a six-week review by Hockey Canada. With the approval, Ekblad became the first defenceman ever granted "exceptional player" status. The status allowed him to compete in the Canadian Hockey League a year earlier than his eligible age. The only other players to have been given such eligibility are John Tavares in 2005, Connor McDavid in 2012, Sean Day in 2013, and Joseph Veleno in 2015.

In the 2014 OHL Coaches Poll, the results of which were released in Toronto, he won top honours in four different categories in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, earning first-place finishes for best shot, hardest shot, best offensive defenceman, and best defensive defenceman. He was also voted second in the category of best penalty killer, behind Oshawa Generals forward Scott Laughton.

Professional

Ekblad was selected first overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers on June 27, 2014. He subsequently signed his first NHL contract on September 3, a three-year, entry-level deal with the Panthers. After making the Panthers' opening night roster out of training camp for the 2014-15 season, Ekblad made his NHL debut on October 9 against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In the game, he scored his first career NHL point, an assist on a Jonathan Huberdeau goal, in Florida's eventual 3–2 loss in overtime. Ekblad later scored his first career NHL goal on November 1 against Steve Mason of the Philadelphia Flyers in a 2–1 Panthers win.

On December 6, in a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Ekblad scored a career-high three points in a 3–2 Panthers victory, the first Panthers rookie to record a three-point game since Dan Boyle during the 1998-99 season. Ekblad was also named the game's first star for his performance. On January 23, 2015, Ekblad was named as an injury replacement for Colorado Avalanche defenceman Erik Johnson at the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio. In the Game, Ekblad recorded four assists in Team Toews' 17–12 victory over Team Foligno.

Ekblad finished his rookie season with 12 goals and 27 assists (39 points) in 81 games played for Florida. Following the conclusion of his rookie season, Ekblad led all rookie defencemen in goals, power play goals (6), power play points (13), shots (170) and fewest shot attempts against per 60 minutes (38.04). He also finished second in assists, plus-minus (+12), hits (109) and blocked shots (80), while also averaging 21:48 of ice time per game.^[14] On April 23, Ekblad was named one of three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy — awarded annually to the NHL's rookie of the year — along with the Ottawa Senators' Mark Stone and Calgary Flames' Johnny Gaudreau. On June 24, 2015, Ekblad was announced as the Calder winner.

On July 2, 2016, Ekblad and the Panthers agreed to an eight-year, $60 million extension.

International play

Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
	2015 Czech Republic	1
Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament
	2013 Czech Republic	1

During Team Canada junior team's training camp in August 2014 in preparation for the upcoming 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in December 2014, Ekblad suffered a concussion in an exhibition game against the Czech Republic.

Ekblad played for Canada at the 2015 World Championships, where they won the gold medal for the first time since 2007 with a perfect 10-0 record.

Personal

Ekblad's brother Darien, a goaltender, was drafted into the OHL by the London Knights. Aaron Ekblad attended St. Anne's Catholic High School and was an honour roll student in the WECDSB. Ekblad was born in Windsor, but grew up in Belle River, Ontario. His great-grandfather was Swedish, hence the last name "Ekblad".

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2011-12	Barrie Colts	OHL		63	10	19	29	34		13	2	3	5	8
2012-13	Barrie Colts	OHL		54	7	27	34	64		22	7	10	17	28
2013-14	Barrie Colts	OHL		58	23	30	53	91		9	2	4	6	14
2014-15	Florida Panthers	NHL		81	12	27	39	32		—	—	—	—	—
2015-16	Florida Panthers	NHL		78	15	21	36	41		6	0	1	1	0
2016-17	Florida Panthers	NHL		68	10	11	21	58		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				227	37	59	96	131		6	0	1	1	0

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2012	Canada Ontario	U17	3		5	1	2	3	4
2013	Canada Ontario	U17	6th		5	2	4	6	4
2013	Canada	IHMT	1		5	2	2	4	4
2014	Canada	WJC	4th		7	1	1	2	2
2015	Canada	WC	1		10	4	3	7	6
2016	Team North America	WCH	5th		1	0	0	0	0
Junior totals					22	6	9	15	14
Senior totals					11	4	3	7	6

Awards and honours

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nail Yakupov	Winner of the Emms Family Award 2011–12	Succeeded by Connor McDavid
Preceded by Alex Galchenyuk	Jack Ferguson Award 2011	Succeeded by Connor McDavid
Preceded by Nathan MacKinnon	NHL first overall draft pick 2014	Succeeded by Connor McDavid
Preceded by Aleksander Barkov	Florida Panthers' first round draft pick 2014	Succeeded by Lawson Crouse
Preceded by Nathan MacKinnon	Winner of the Calder Trophy 2015	Succeeded by Artemi Panarin