Confirmed with Link: 1st Overall - Aaron Ekblad (signed 9/3/14)

[spacemanatee]

let's go

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[SoupyFIN]

Mic’d up:

[NHL]626791&catid=35[/NHL]

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

1st OV in the draft and 1st OV in the hair rankings.



Our top pairing will be Matheson-Ekblad. Legit, legit, legit.

 

[FinlandPanther]

Love that mic'd up video. Seems like a really down to earth kid.

 

[FinlandPanther]

1st OV in the draft and 1st OV in the hair rankings.



Our top pairing will be Matheson-Ekblad. Legit, legit, legit.

That makes me giggle knowing they're both gonna be on our PP.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

That makes me giggle knowing they're both gonna be on our PP.

That could be a real good combo on the PP. Yeah, good call.
And Matheson can really shoot the puck too. It won't be just one passer and one shooter.

 

[floridada]

That could be a real good combo on the PP. Yeah, good call.
And Matheson can really shoot the puck too. It won't be just one passer and one shooter.

We will finally have a powerplay that doesn't involve playing the puck like it's a hot grenade anymore.

 

[JetsColts13]

Congrats on the pick! I've seen Ek play over 100 games throughout his OHL career and he will make a impact on your team right away next season. Got a great kid a leader here.

 

[spacemanatee]

Congrats on the pick! I've seen Ek play over 100 games throughout his OHL career and he will make a impact on your team right away next season. Got a great kid a leader here.

thx! now that the smoke have cleared from the first round i think we're all super excited that tallon drafted him. our defence will be soild in a couple of years to say at least.

 

[I am not exposed]

Delighted. He's who I wanted if we stayed at number 1.

 

[hockeydude1]

Congrats on the pick! I've seen Ek play over 100 games throughout his OHL career and he will make a impact on your team right away next season. Got a great kid a leader here.

Excited to hear this! He seems extremely mature for his age. And he wanted to be a Florida Panther. That's an added bonus for why Tallon kept his pick. Can't wait to see him play for us.

 

[JP Mick]

NHL Network did a little video of Ekblad behind the scenes yesterday, skip to 11:40:18.

http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=724303

 

[RCDeltaFixer]

NHL Network did a little video of Ekblad behind the scenes yesterday, skip to 11:40:18.

http://kings.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=724303

That was really cool, thanks for sharing this here!

 

[Android 16]

Dale should be getting high praise for holding on to this pick and taking Ekblad. The amount of ridiculous trade rumors was at an all-time high yesterday. Dale said it himself, most of the proposals were "band-aid fixes". There was only ONE that made him stop and think for a second and even that wasn't good enough. Fantastic job. Any other GM in Dale's position would've traded it for junk. Now we have a prospect that has the possibility of being a franchise d-man. Couldn't be happier with the pick.

 

[South Florida Canuck]

Dale should be getting high praise for holding on to this pick and taking Ekblad. The amount of ridiculous trade rumors was at an all-time high yesterday. Dale said it himself, most of the proposals were "band-aid fixes". There was only ONE that made him stop and think for a second and even that wasn't good enough. Fantastic job. Any other GM in Dale's position would've traded it for junk. Now we have a prospect that has the possibility of being a franchise d-man. Couldn't be happier with the pick.

You hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what the proposals were, "band aid fixes" Guys rumored like Phaneuf, Kadri, and Evander Kane are not what's needed here. Like Bill Torrey once said "Don't go for a piecemeal approach"

 

[start winnin]

Thank you for not trading the pick and picking Ekblad. He was a great fit for your team with Barkov and Bjugstad already up the middle.

I hope you guys do well this year!

 

[vendetta]

You hit the nail on the head. That's exactly what the proposals were, "band aid fixes" Guys rumored like Phaneuf, Kadri, and Evander Kane are not what's needed here. Like Bill Torrey once said "Don't go for a piecemeal approach"

how is a young 30 goal power forward not needed here? or a top pairing d man? kadri i would agree with... im not saying i wish tallon traded the pick, im not, im very happy he took eckblad but we could really use phaneuf or kane...

 

[Dread Clawz]

That could be a real good combo on the PP. Yeah, good call.
And Matheson can really shoot the puck too. It won't be just one passer and one shooter.

Ekblad is a good setup guy on the PP too. I have a smile on my face every time I think of that pairing.

 

[Dread Clawz]

how is a young 30 goal power forward not needed here? or a top pairing d man? kadri i would agree with... im not saying i wish tallon traded the pick, im not, im very happy he took eckblad but we could really use phaneuf or kane...

I think he means for Ekblad they're not.

 

[FlaPnthrsPunk]

If any trade wasn't going to make a significant difference with this team now, then I'm glad he kept the pick and chose Ekblad. I think he's going to be a solid piece on defense for a long time and seems mature to move onto the next step into the NHL.

 

[LuigisMadhouse44]

soooooo happy we got him. Tallon you troll making that pause in the middle of the announcement and making me second guess myself. At least he made the best decision by drafting Blady ... so pumped for next season right now

 

[JP Mick]

soooooo happy we got him. Tallon you troll making that pause in the middle of the announcement and making me second guess myself. At least he made the best decision by drafting Blady ... so pumped for next season right now

 

[Crossbar]

So the question now is, who would be the ideal d-man on the team/free agency to mentor Ek?

 

[JP Mick]

So the question now is, who would be the ideal d-man on the team/free agency to mentor Ek?

Well Jovo has already talked about him staying at his place to get him started... so there's that.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I got a feeling most likely Tallon was going to make the pick all along. It was simple, either he was going get fleece somebody or he was going to keep the pick. The way he played it, making it like an auction, he made sure he received the best offers he could. It was torturous for fans but he did an excellent job as a GM.