Top prospects fulfilling the hype
Ekblad, Reinhart angling for No. 1 draft spot while hoping to bring the gold medal home
KEVIN MCGRAN MALMO, SWEDEN— Aaron Ekblad or Sam Reinhart? No. 1 or No. 2?
Take your pick. Team Canada’s Ekblad and Reinhart came to the world junior hockey tournament as, more or less, the favourites to be the top overall pick in the June NHL draft.
And with Canada heading to the medal round — they play Finland in the semifinals Saturday — nothing has changed. Much like last year when the debate was over American defenceman Seth Jones and Canadian centre Nathan MacKinnon, it’s going to come down to team needs.
Need a defenceman? Take Ekblad. Need a forward? Take Reinhart.
“Both kids are doing a pretty good job,” said Dave Morrison, the Leafs’ chief amateur scout. “They’re certainly not hurting themselves.”
Ekblad, of the Barrie Colts, has emerged as Canada’s top shutdown defenceman. Paired with the crafty, puck-controlling Derrick Pouliot, a Pittsburgh Penguins prospect, the two are a formidable combination.
“He’s been phenomenal,” Pouliot said of Ekblad. “For how young he is, he’s very mature. He makes a lot of the right plays out there. He makes it easy on me. I think we work well together.” At 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, he is one of the tournament’s biggest players. They call him Shrek. “Just kind of a little joke,” says Pouliot, sheepishly, since Ekblad is over his right shoulder at the time. “He looks really imposing.” Ekblad is so imposing that Team Canada captain Scott Laughton hates playing against him. “When he stepped into the league (the OHL) and he’s two or three years younger than me . . . You don’t expect it,” said Laughton, a Flyers prospect with the Oshawa Generals. “He looked like a 25-year-old. . . . I’ve played against him the last couple of years and we haven’t gotten along on the ice too much. It’s nice to play with him here.” What Ekblad has done best is simply play his stay-at-home physical style. He hits without taking penalties. He gets the puck to Pouliot, who leads Canadian defencemen with a goal and four assists. He clears the front of the net. And he’s enjoyed every second.
“It’s intense, it’s demanding, it’s challenging. It’s all that good stuff,” said Ekblad, who has a goal and an assist. “It’s such a fun time with a great group of guys. You come together for three weeks and try and do something special as a team.” What drives him is his desire to be the best. “You always want to be better than the day before,” said Ekblad. “I wouldn’t say (to) ever reach expectations. If you want to be a great player, you can never be satisfied with the way you played. Be able to say, ‘I can do this, this and this better,’ then do better the next time.” Reinhart has two goals and three assists playing mostly with Laughton and Bo Horvat. “Probably the smartest player I’ve ever played with,” Laughton said of Reinhart. “Probably not the flashiest guy on the ice, but he knows where to pick his spots.” Despite the pressures of the world junior tournament, both seem to have their heads screwed on straight. “If your team is doing well, you’re more likely to be looked at as a successful player,” said Ekblad, whose agent is Bobby Orr. Reinhart agreed that the team must come first. “There’s a lot of events they (scouts) look at throughout the year,” said Reinhart. “This is the biggest stage in junior hockey. The focus is on our team and team success right now. Everyone wants winners.” As for who goes first and who goes second, these teammates say it doesn’t matter. “If Sam goes one, awesome,” said Ekblad. “If I go one, awesome. If I go 10, awesome. … I just want to be there on that day and share that experience with family and friends and know I played my best leading up to it.”