Panthers take Ekblad with top pick
Second defenceman in the last 18 years to go first overall
PHILADELPHIA — There was the Russian Draft, in which Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin went No. 1 and No. 2 overall.
There was the Crosby Draft, the Stamkos Draft and the Tavares Draft, in which generational talents were heads-and-shoulders above the rest of the field.
Two years ago was known as the Defence Draft, because eight of the top-10 players chosen were defencemen.
But heading into Friday night’s NHL entry draft, the only thing you could say for certain was that there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the picks.
No one was sure who would go first, second, third. Heck, nobody knew if the Florida Panthers, who held the No. 1 pick, would even keep their selection. All of this, of course, built it up as one of the more suspenseful drafts in recent history.
Dale Tallon fed into that uncertainty when the Panthers GM stepped up to the stage and said with “with the No. 1 pick, the Florida Panthers pick from the Ontario Hockey League … ” and then said nothing and smiled. After about five seconds, he ended the speculation and called Aaron Ekblad’s name.
“I was freaking out for a second there when he stopped,” said the Barrie Colts defenceman. “It was breathtaking to say the least. Obviously, I was hoping for the best.”
Ekblad, a native of Windsor, Ont., is only the second defenceman in the last 18 years to go first overall. Coincidentally, the last time the Panthers had the No. 1 pick they chose Ed Jovanovski, who went on to become the team’s captain and franchise leader. The 6-foot-4 and 216-pound Ekblad believes he can come in right away and make a similar impact.
“I was freaking out for a second there when he stopped. It was breathtaking to say the least.”
AARON EKBLAD
“I’ve said that from the beginning that I believe in myself, I’m confident and I think if you don’t believe in yourself and you’re not confident you’re behind the eightball right off the bat,” said Ekblad, who scored 23 goals and 53 points with the Colts. “I believe that if I work hard in the summer I can step into the NHL next year.
“Obviously, I’m going to need a lot of help and it’s going to be a learning curve, but, again, I’m confident in myself.
The rest of the top five did not hold much in the way of surprises, at least not in who was selected. The Buffalo Sabres selected Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart at No. 2; Prince Albert Raiders centre Leon Draisaitl went No. 3 to the Edmonton Oilers; Kingston Frontenacs centre Sam Bennett went No. 4 to the Calgary Flames; and Oshawa Generals winger Michael Dal Colle went No. 5 to the New York Islanders.
Jake Virtanen (Vancouver), Haydn Fleury (Carolina), William Nylander (Toronto), Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg) and Nick Ritchie (Anaheim) rounded out the top 10.
“Very unpredictable,” said Reinhart. “I’m thrilled with the way it turned out, but the last few days have been very busy trying to figure out where I was going to get picked.”
If there were surprises, they happened off the draft floor. The Vancouver Canucks spent the day cleaning house. They moved Ryan Kesler to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for centre Nick Bonino, defenceman Luca Sbisa and a first- and third-round pick. The team also traded Jason Garrison to the Tampa Bay Lightning for picks.
“We went back to [Kesler] ... asked if they could expand the list,” said Canucks GM Jim Benning, who had been limited to two teams — Anaheim and Chicago — by Kesler. “At the end of the day we got the best deal that we could.”
The Penguins, meanwhile, traded James Neal to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Patrick Hornqvist and Nick Spaling.