Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ekblad: New game, body, lifestyle
CORAL SPRINGS — Inside Aaron Ekblad, there is a duality that exists in a league like the NHL. The Florida Panthers defenseman is 21 years old, a certifiable youngster who turned the drinking age in February and shed his teenager label the year before. But he’s also entering his fourth season in Florida, a veteran in some ways, having gone through the Calder Trophywinning rookie season, the euphoria of the franchise’s best year before the crash of last season. On the ice, Ekblad is one of Florida’s best and most important players. He’s the No. 1 pick from 2014 that enters the first year of his eight-year, $60-million extension this season. He’s the face of the franchise, even with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck and Roberto Luongo still around.
Off the ice is where the conflict between being 21 years old and a fourth-year professional appears. His friends growing up are going to school instead of making nine figures. They’re not in the NHL. He is, so he changed his summer routine after his season prematurely ended due to head injuries.
Ekbald changed his diet to slim down, and said he separated himself a bit from his friends. He said he was selling his house back home in Windsor, Ontario, and that he would be spending summers in South Florida from now on.
“It’s not like I said ‘Hey, boys, I can’t see you ever,’ ” Ekblad said. “I still have my friends, I still hang out with them. More or less, you just pick and choose your times. I didn’t go to downtown Windsor once this year. It’s just one of those decisions you got to make. You got to stay away from this.”
Ekblad wouldn’t say how much weight he dropped exactly over the summer, but said he came in heavy last year and wanted to be quicker this season. So he dropped bad carbohydrates from his diet and lessened alcohol intake. He minimized gluten and dairy and bad sugars. (“It’s not fun,” he said.)
He said his muscle mass remains about the same, but he’s dropped a “significant” amount of fat. It’s all part of an effort to keep his head safe. He wants to be thinner — and faster — to win pucks and evade hits.
Ekblad has suffered three head and neck injuries in his three-year NHL career. He missed four games in January 2016 after a concussion. He was diagnosed with whiplash during the World Cup last year, and missed 14 of the final 15 games last season with head injuries stemming from a hit in Tampa Bay on March 11.
He discussed the issues as “a psychological thing” he needed to get past. Ekblad would play timidly, afraid to dig pucks out of the corners and slowing his pace to try to avoid a big hit. He talked about his play with now general manager Dale Tallon during last season.
“And that was not the right way to play,” Ekblad said. “Dale and I had a talk midway through the year that I got to get back for that puck quick, make the play and then get up ice and that’s the best way to protect yourself is to be quicker than them.”
Ekblad tried to return last year against Carolina on March 21, but ultimately didn’t play again that season. He finished with just 10 goals and 11 assists to go with a minus-23 rating. All figures were career-worsts.
Ekblad said this summer provided a respite for his brain and neck to heal. He said he’s in the best shape he could be in.
“I worked my ass off this summer to put myself in a position to be a very reliable and steady defenseman for our team, but also carry the offense and try and contribute in that sense as much as I possibly can,” Ekblad said.
Tallon lauded Ekblad for his maturity and willingness to adjust his offseason routine to produce a better on-ice result.
“You can lead a horse to water,” Tallon said, “but you got to take responsibility for your actions yourself and he has.”
Ekblad’s return to the ice coincides with the arrival of a longtime familiar face — Bob Boughner. The two are both from Windsor and Ekblad counts Boughner’s son, Brady, as one of his best friends growing up. Boughner said he’s known Ekblad since he was about 12 years old and he lived about half a mile away.
“Many days laying around the house in the summer and him and all the rest of his buddies are crashing my living room,” Boughner said.
Even before he was hired by the Panthers, Boughner said he’d talked to Ekblad about last year’s disappointing season and what he’d have to do moving forward. He talked about the right way to go back for pucks. (“You have to have a little bit of bite,” Boughner said.)
Ekblad insists that he doesn’t want to get too comfortable with Boughner, but admitted there was a comfort level with Boughner that contributed to a “cool little dynamic.”
“I don’t want to be a suckup by any means,” Ekblad said. “I want him to give it to me when I deserve it.”
Added Boughner: “I think he knows it’s a business-first atmosphere. There’s going to be times he’s probably not going to like what I have to say. There’ll be some uncomfortable conversations, but that’s OK.”
The expectations for Ekblad are similar to the rest of the team. He’s expected to bounce back. He’s also expected to get back on track to what could be a career that includes the title of best defenseman in the league.
“I’m not going to say that this year I’m going to come out and be the best defenseman in the NHL,” Ekblad said. “That is my goal. That’s somewhere I’d like to be at some point. I’d love to win a Norris Trophy. That’s always been a dream of mine.”