Aaron Ekblad Chosen 1st Overall In NHL Draft

Only a few short seasons ago, Aaron Ekblad was patrolling the ice of Memorial Arena in Chatham as a member of the Sun County Panthers Minor Midget ‘AAA’ team.

Saturday, the big defenseman from Belle River was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Ekblad, who played for the Barrie Colts, was the OHL Rookie of the Year in 2011, and last year won the OHL Defenseman of the Year and was named an OHL First Team All-Star.

Awarded exceptional status to enter the OHL draft a year early, Ekblad has lived up to the ‘exceptional’ billing at every step along the way. He has already represented Canada on multiple occasions including winning gold at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka tournament, and playing for Canada’s World Junior entry this past winter.

Ekblad’s brother Darien, is also familiar with the Chatham area, as the netminder played two season with the Chatham Maroons Junior B organization before returning to play with the Essex 73s Junior C team midseason this year where he won a Great Lakes Junior C title.

Considered the most NHL ready among eligible draft products, Ekblad will undoubtedly find himself in the NHL next season.