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

[NewEraPanther]

He's a Barrie good defenseman

 

[Gizmo Tkachuk]

He's a Barrie good defenseman

Get out.

 

[Juggernaut27]

He's a Barrie good defenseman

Get out.

Not a pun fan?

You must be Trevor Kidding me

 

[Big Bjugs]

Nice little tid bit from NHL.com called "Tallon thinks Ekblad will stick with the Panthers."

One of the reasons our defense has been good is because of Aaron's play, Tallon said. He's played like a real pro. He's been as good a player as we've had and it's been terrific watching him.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=736733&navid=nhl:topheads

 

[IceManCat]

He is so solid defensively reminds me a lot of Jacob Trouba out in Winnipeg

 

[16Skippy]

Nice little tid bit from NHL.com called "Tallon thinks Ekblad will stick with the Panthers."



http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=736733&navid=nhl:topheads

But he's a defensemen he won't make a difference until he's 26

 

[CanadianPantherFan]

Ekblad staying with Panthers per CBC

 

[adam graves]

Standing O for Ekblad!!!!!!!

 

[spacemanatee]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=33483

The South Florida fans that do come out to games are awesome. We love them and they're very supportive of us

hehe

 

[Android 16]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=33483


hehe

Wow.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

http://www.nhl.com/ice/blogpost.htm?id=33483


hehe

This guy is gonna be the face of our team in a couple years.

 

[spacemanatee]

Wow.

what?

This guy is gonna be the face of our team in a couple years.

yeah hopefully!

 

[Bruinaholic]

This guy is something else...I watched him very closely tuesday night(I have season tickets in boston,bruins defend 2x).. Ek has it all,as highly as I think of HaMilton I think id take ekblad as my cornerstone D

 

[I am not exposed]

This guy is something else...I watched him very closely tuesday night(I have season tickets in boston,bruins defend 2x).. Ek has it all,as highly as I think of HaMilton I think id take ekblad as my cornerstone D

Thanks, and yes, we have been impressed with him. Glad we kept the pick.

 

[IM Clutcm]

This guy is something else...I watched him very closely tuesday night(I have season tickets in boston,bruins defend 2x).. Ek has it all,as highly as I think of HaMilton I think id take ekblad as my cornerstone D

Thanks for the kind words. He's been everything as advertised and more. Like BigNickBjugstad said, we're really glad we didn't trade the pick. He's more valuable to the team than any deal that was presented.

 

[Panthersfan1989]

I really hope this guys doesn't follow suit with all the rest of DT draft picks. great for the first year then bad...

 

[IM Clutcm]

Does anyone think Ekblad has a legitimate shot at the Calder this year?

 

[I am not exposed]

Does anyone think Ekblad has a legitimate shot at the Calder this year?

He needs to start racking up points to be considered seriously. Although his play has been great. He's a defenseman playing very good defense in his rookie year. However, these awards seem to base a lot on how many points a player has.

 

[Ghoste]

He needs to start racking up points to be considered seriously. Although his play has been great. He's a defenseman playing very good defense in his rookie year. However, these awards seem to base a lot on how many points a player has.

This.

-ghoste

 

[Drugs Delaney]

I don't care if he doesn't win the Calder. He's a Florida Panther. He's ours for a very long time. It's going to be fun to watch.

 

[WADEugottaBELAKthat]

Wow do you guys ever have a stud on your hands in Ekblad!

Would it be far-fetched to insinuate that he is already the best player on the Panthers?

I think he is a definite Calder contender at this point. There is going to be lots of spicy competition; but he is right in there. He makes a difference in so many ways.

 

[spacemanatee]

Wow do you guys ever have a stud on your hands in Ekblad!

Would it be far-fetched to insinuate that he is already the best player on the Panthers?

I think he is a definite Calder contender at this point. There is going to be lots of spicy competition; but he is right in there. He makes a difference in so many ways.

he's good thats for sure. great considering his age and the position he plays. he's makes a couple of mistakes now and again but it's expected. as some peeps have already mentioned, i don't think he'll be a calder candidate unless he racks up 35ish points this season.

 

[Aksu]

he's good thats for sure. great considering his age and the position he plays. he's makes a couple of mistakes now and again but it's expected. as some peeps have already mentioned, i don't think he'll be a calder candidate unless he racks up 35ish points this season.

Well he is tied for most points on our team. He has 6 points in 12 games which is 0.5 points per game. We have 70 games left and if he averages the same 0.5 ppg for the rest of the season, he should get 35 points in the last 70 games and when you add the 6 points he has now that would be 41 points. I know those are just numbers and he probably wont have the same ppg for the rest of the season, but if we get our offense going (and score more than 1-2 goals per game) I dont see any reason why Ekblad couldnt have over 30 points.

 

[SoupyFIN]

Even if Ekblad puts up around 0.5-0.7 PPG, it would still need a poor year offensively for the forwards for him to get serious consideration. Last two times the award has gone to a d-man:

09-10; Myers 11+37=48, Duchene 24+31=55 and Howard (goalie).
02-03; Jackman 3+16=19, Nash 17+22=39 and Zetterberg 22+22=44.

Currently of the forwards; Forsberg is over a PPG and the trio of Gaudreau, Pearson and Burakovsky are close.

 

[EnforceTheLaus]

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/11/13/7200553/aaron-ekblad-analysis-florida-panthers

Great little article on Ekblad so far.