Aaron Ekblad

**Aaron Ekblad** (born on February 7, 1996 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Florida Panthers in the NHL.

Ekblad was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Amateur

In 2010–11, Aaron 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.

Aaron's application to be the only player born in 1996 in the CHL draft was approved unanimously after a six-week review by Hockey Canada.

With the approval, he 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 centre John Tavares in 2005, Connor McDavid in 2012, Sean Day in 2013, Joseph Veleno in 2015, and Shane Wright in 2019.

In the 2014 OHL Coaches Poll, Aaron 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

Aaron 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, 2014, 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, Aaron 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.

He 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, Aaron 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. He was also named the game's first star for his performance.

On January 23, 2015, he 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, he recorded four assists in Team Toews' 17–12 victory over Team Foligno.

Aaron 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, he led all rookie defensemen in goals, power play goals (6), power play points (13), shots (170) and fewest shot attempts against per 60 minutes (38.04).

Aaron also finished second in assists, plus-minus (+12), hits (109) and blocked shots (80), while also averaging 21:48 of ice time per game. He also set a new franchise record for rookie defensemen in goals, assists, and points, surpassing Ed Jovanovski.

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.

During the following season, Aaron missed four games in January to recover from a concussion he had endured from a hit delivered by Edmonton Oilers Matt Hendricks; Hendricks was suspended three games for the hit.

On July 2, 2016, he and the Panthers agreed to an eight-year, $60 million extension. He was also named an alternative captain. During the 2016–17 season, he suffered another concussion during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and missed four games.

On February 3, 2018, Aaron became only the 15th defensemen in NHL history to reach double-digits in goals in each of their first four seasons.

## International Play

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, Aaron suffered a concussion in an exhibition game against the Czech Republic.

Aaron 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.

He was invited to the play for Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He was later named an alternate captain along with Sean Couturier. During the tournament, he suffered an upper body injury and had to leave the team early.

On April 12, 2018, Aaron was named to Team Canada's senior team to compete at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.

## Personal Life

Aaron grew up in Belle River, Ontario, Canada. His great-grandfather was of Swedish descent. His brother, Darien played in the OHL for the London Knights.

He attended Innisdale Secondary School and was an honour roll student in the Simcoe County District School Board.

During his rookie year, Aaron lived with veteran Willie Mitchell and his wife Megan.