2018 Offseason Grade The Player: Aaron Ekblad

[RainingRats]

Bump. Anyone actually think he put in work this offseason to get quicker? Improve his skating?

 

[FinlandPanther]

Bump. Anyone actually think he put in work this offseason to get quicker? Improve his skating?

Nope. He’s lazy and thinks he’s way better than he is. SO GLAD he didn’t get to be captain.

 

[Jean Luc Discard]

Bump. Anyone actually think he put in work this offseason to get quicker? Improve his skating?

Nah. Probably spent the entire off season working that Blue Steel look for the photo shoots.

 

[vendetta]

I’m not aware of his work ethic or offseason habits but I will say it’s not
Possible for everyone
To improve there speed by a noticeable amount. Maybe he is trying I don’t k ownone way or the other so I won’t bash his work ethic cause I know better. Other than his speed and burst and explosiveness the rest of his game
Is high end. He is making better plays reads and smarter plays this year. Better positionally as well. He’s a good 3 right now at minimum

 

[Clint]

I don't want to knock him since I would strongly defer to professional athletes and professional staff to work diligently to identify weak spots and improve performance during the offseason.

However, I don't think it's premature to elucidate the serious concerns this franchise should have about his play considering his extraordinary contract. We waited for years and years for Gudbranson to 'elevate his play' into a top pairing defenseman and nothing came of it. I am terrified of the same situation playing out with Ekblad, especially considering he's now passed this fabled 300-game-mark that seems to solidify the type of game you should expect from a defenseman.

I'm not saying we should trade him just quite yet, but at this point he has negative trade value due to his contract. Never a good sign for your supposed top-pairing franchise defenseman.

 

[Little Bobby Boo]

Our game against NYI. After one of our goals you can see Ekblad skate to the scorer (I think Hoff) and you can see everything wrong with his skating in that celebration. So choppy and slow.

I like EK and parts of his game are great. But he's not even shooting the puck this year.

 

[vendetta]

Eks defense is trending up. He’s been really good the last few games. The offense will come

 

[FinlandPanther]

Eks defense is trending up. He’s been really good the last few games. The offense will come

I definitely would not say he’s been really good.

 

[vendetta]

I definitely would not say he’s been really good.

Yes he has been the last few games. Defensively speaking. The d had a rough start for the first few games but have settled down a lot. Ek has been well positioned and making smart reads all over the ice the last few games

 

[FinlandPanther]

Yes he has been the last few games. Defensively speaking. The d had a rough start for the first few games but have settled down a lot. Ek has been well positioned and making smart reads all over the ice the last few games

His neutral zone play isnt bad at all, but around the net he is way too nonchalant.

 

[Brokin]

His octopus style of draping his arms all over the player gets him called for holding too many times. That doesn't include the tons of times the refs have looked the other way and let him use that illegal technique. For a big body he doesn't play as physical as Pysyk.

Since he got his jaw jacked by Domi he's gone into his offensive shell. He may have passed his concussion protocols but I've seen this story before where he takes a head hit and plays thru it and doesn't think the game properly for months. It doesn't take much to scramble his eggs.