Aaron Ekblad

[HenrikW]

He’s a solid #2. Strong defensively, won’t run a PP and won’t rack up assists, but will score some goals.

He has 10+ in each of the last 5 seasons...only 6 other D can say that league-wide...Burns, OEL, Giordano, Hamilton, Hedman, Josi. That’s pretty solid company.

You are saying you don't want Ekblad on your PP? Nice hot take

 

[yababy]

This was a bounceback year for him, but I don't think he'll ever be a true #1D or live up to his contract.

Kinda of like Erik Johnson in a lot of ways

Erik Johnson? Come on buddy.
Show me another dman averaging 13 goals a year in the first 5 years in the league

 

[yababy]

Kids 23. He's certainly had his problems with injuries but he still has plenty of time to develop into a top tier defenceman.

Agree.
Check Hedmans first 5 years...Ekblad is better

 

[Cubs2024WSChamps]

He’s never never been truly the same after the dirty M.Hendricks hit. The league did not send a message after that hit. Maybe the dirtiest play and one of the chippiest regular season game’s in recent memory. The refs did a horrible job that night. An elite young players career was taken away that night.

The player that eventually came back was a more timid, lesser IQ type of player.

The part I believe that is on Ekblad ...is his lack of progression in the skating department.

Then happens yearly the second the Oilers draft.

As for Ekblad, lol at the hot takes.

Guys a stud, will take him on the Hawks if Q don't want him.

 

[Chaos2k7]

Agree.
Check Hedmans first 5 years...Ekblad is better

Lots will disagree and they would be wrong.

Ekblad was our top Dman this year taking on all top lines, and without any PP points to boost his production. If Yandle was not on this team, he would have had 50+ points and the overreactions would be in the other direction.

All young players do not follow the same developmental path. If he was offered up in trade 30 other clubs would inquire.

 

[Hyzer]

Concussions are no joke

 

[VoluntaryDom]

he had a quietly good 18-19 after being pretty bad 15-16 16-17 and 17-18. maybe his career is back on track and he will end up becoming a top pair dman after all.

 

[613Leafer]

Obviously he's had multiple concussions which have quite likely derailed his early career.

It's not too late for him to explode into a #1D, Hedman for example didn't top 50 points and become an elite all-around #1 dman until his 5th season, and Ekblad only just finished his 5th season. He seems to be a really solid #2ish guy, with I think some room to grow. Or maybe he'll be similar to former Panther Bouwmeester, and while being very solid, never quite get to that elite #1 dman level.

 

[PensandCaps]

Lol he's already a legit very good Dman at age 23. He's going to get better and better.

Took Hedman awhile too.

 

[Dustin]

Agree.
Check Hedmans first 5 years...Ekblad is better

Whether or not he was better than Hedman is irrelevant though. Like I said there is still plenty of time for Ekblad to develop into a elite defenceman but what he doesn't need is hyperbole about his career so far. Injuries have certainly derailed his career to this point and considering where he was drafted and his contract there should be pressure on him to be a better player at this point. That being said I'm sure all Florida fans care about is that he continues to show improvement year over year. Each players development is different and Ekblad still has lots of developing to do. As it stands today I don't see him as a top 30 defenceman right now in terms of skill. As for potential he's probably top 10 in terms of value however.

 

[The Devilish Buffoon]

Did he just peak/hit his ceiling earlier by virtue of physical maturity? Like say Zach Bogosian?

Kinda a side note but I think Bogosian would have been a really high end DMan if not for injuries. He's missed ~25 games per season and has had serious wrist issues and LBIs. Maybe not a true #1 but a very solid top pairing guy (of course his injuries have slowed him down and made him unreliable so this is no longer the case)

 

[SufferingCatFan]

Lol he's already a legit very good Dman at age 23. He's going to get better and better.

Took Hedman awhile too.

Agree. While not playing much on pp, he scored 13 g and 24 a. On D, he played against top line and was plus 1 on a team where virtually everyone including Barkov had negative number Additionally, he was paired with Yandle, a PP specialist, who struggles on D. Still needs to improve his skating.

 

[MintyFresh88]

You are saying you don't want Ekblad on your PP? Nice hot take

Where did I say I don’t want him on the PP? I said he won’t run/QB a PP, doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want him to be a part of it at all.