RD Aaron Ekblad (2014, 1st overall, Florida) II
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Like many people I thought that a big part of his appeal was his size, but watching him play I have just been amazed at how smart a player he is, and not just at his age, but at any age. It's incredible to me how impressive he's been. When was the last rookie dman who had a season like this?
Really happy for the Panthers and their fans for getting such a gem.
He's got an appealing and down to earth personality which makes it even easier to cheer him on.
What a great player.
Really happy for the Panthers and their fans for getting such a gem.
He's got an appealing and down to earth personality which makes it even easier to cheer him on.
What a great player.
Originally Posted by OttawaRoughRiderFan
This kid is one of the reasons I stay out of the McDavid-Eichel debate.
2 years ago, if you had suggested Ekblad would have been better, out of the gate, than Seth Jones (and by a wide margin) you would have been told you know nothing about hockey. Yet, a third of the way into Ekblad's rookie season and he looks like far the superior player. Having said that, Jones is 20 / Ekblad is 18, and a million things can happen over a hockey career.
Originally Posted by VOB
I understand what you are saying...often times we over hype and then turn around and tear down special players...I remember commenting on last spring that Ekblad will turn out to be a top pairing D-man but nothing special compared to a player like Hanifin, whose this year's top D...silly me, now it would be an extreme complement to Hanifin to rank him in Ekblad's company
I remember, 3 years ago, posters ranked the 2013 and 2014 top draft picks. Many posters said (after the 2014 World Juniors) :
Seth Jones
J. Drouin
Nate MacKinnon
Sam Bennett
Aaron Ekblad
2 years later...
Seth Jones has been a step down from what was expected.
Drouin has been good in the NHL but not great.
MacKinnon has been terrific but slowed down recently - bit of a sophomore slump.
Bennett is hurt and has not played in the NHL.
Ekblad has blown away everyone's expectations.
Now, things can still change going forward but the point is, all this screaming and yelling over players who are 17 is beyond silly and unproductive. People can speculate, of course - that is what this forum is for. But, keep in mind, we are comparing players in different leagues, playing against different kinds of competition at different ages - at a time in life when age actually means something; an 11 month difference to a 17 year old is HUGE.
To get angry over what someone else says is, well, dumb. To say that McDavid, Eichel of Hanifin are generational players is also taking a huge step. Again, let's just let life take its course.
This kid is one of the reasons I stay out of the McDavid-Eichel debate.
2 years ago, if you had suggested Ekblad would have been better, out of the gate, than Seth Jones (and by a wide margin) you would have been told you know nothing about hockey. Yet, a third of the way into Ekblad's rookie season and he looks like far the superior player. Having said that, Jones is 20 / Ekblad is 18, and a million things can happen over a hockey career.
Originally Posted by VOB
I understand what you are saying...often times we over hype and then turn around and tear down special players...I remember commenting on last spring that Ekblad will turn out to be a top pairing D-man but nothing special compared to a player like Hanifin, whose this year's top D...silly me, now it would be an extreme complement to Hanifin to rank him in Ekblad's company
I remember, 3 years ago, posters ranked the 2013 and 2014 top draft picks. Many posters said (after the 2014 World Juniors) :
Seth Jones
J. Drouin
Nate MacKinnon
Sam Bennett
Aaron Ekblad
2 years later...
Seth Jones has been a step down from what was expected.
Drouin has been good in the NHL but not great.
MacKinnon has been terrific but slowed down recently - bit of a sophomore slump.
Bennett is hurt and has not played in the NHL.
Ekblad has blown away everyone's expectations.
Now, things can still change going forward but the point is, all this screaming and yelling over players who are 17 is beyond silly and unproductive. People can speculate, of course - that is what this forum is for. But, keep in mind, we are comparing players in different leagues, playing against different kinds of competition at different ages - at a time in life when age actually means something; an 11 month difference to a 17 year old is HUGE.
To get angry over what someone else says is, well, dumb. To say that McDavid, Eichel of Hanifin are generational players is also taking a huge step. Again, let's just let life take its course.
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You got me. TBH, I threw that in to make a point.
I don't remember the exact listings but I was trying to provide an example of how things change - with him being injured. My point being, of course, no one knows and to fight over it is silly.Having said all that, the 2014 drafts was considered a step down from the Top 3 (or even 4) of 2013 and, as this thread has proved, Ekblad has really surprised to the upside. Again, no one knows. To speculate is one thing, to fight and you say you know how things will play out, is a waste of energy.
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1Gold Standard
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You got me. TBH, I threw that in to make a point.
Having said all that, the 2014 drafts was considered a step down from the Top 3 (or even 4) of 2013 and, as this thread has proved, Ekblad has really surprised to the upside. Again, no one knows.
I wrote in the months leading up to the Mackinnon draft in the Avs thread that Ekblad would be a better d-man than Jones. Didn't go over too well...now it's still too early to call it a win, as both players still have a lot of developing to do, but the only thing I missed out on was, our boy Aaron needs another year of junior.
People were just looking to pick apart his game without watching it. Everyone else knew he'd be a stud
Spade
Resident Tool
Beauty of the NHL draft, my friend. What was the quote? "It's like looking into a high school classroom and picking out the kids who'll become lawyers"?.
You just never know how a kid is gonna turn out. I thought that Ekblad would be good, but not this quickly. His hockey sense makes up for his lack of exceptionally elite skating, and that weakness'll only improve as he continues to get stronger. Unlike a lot of big kids, he wasn't reliant on his size despite being so big, and that's (ironically enough given the NHL's "you can't teach size" groupthink) what's enabled Ekblad to seamlessly transition to the game against older, stronger, equally-talented players.
17 year olds can turn out many different ways. It's why I try to avoid speaking in absolutes. No matter how big an expert you are, you can be wrong.
It's still early but Ekblad looks like he's going to anchor a team's defense for the next 20 years.
Amen, brother. Hope it happens because Team Canada could use another D-Man like him.
1Gold Standard
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Ya, I'm actually hoping Florida misses the playoffs and he gets to play big minutes at the WHC come May.
WADEugottaBELAKthat
Nikishin turning heads.
jnk96
Registered User
I just love how people say MacKinnon has a sophomore slump. I mean, he's still tied for 2nd in scoring on the Avs and on pace for 52 points. While that isn't anywhere near the elite in the league, he is still doing really good for a 19 year old on a fairly bad team. Much better than Drouin on the Lightning for example.
LetsGoBLUES91
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It counts as a sophomore slump. He was VERY near the elite in the league last year and he isn't this year. Not concerned about him at all as he will be a stud for years to come. But it is indeed a 2nd year slump.
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gudzilla
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so, this is exactly the scenario for barkov last year, top scorer on a pretty bad team, on pace for ~50 points, although barkov played a way better two-way game
but no, he was trash
now we use the excuse for mackinnon
anyway, i think the absolute ceiling for ekblad is lidström lite, they play very similiar and are both very good at passing the puck aswell as shooting it through traffick
i was being serious tho
, he has the potential to be a shea weber-esque dominating dman
CanuckistanFlyerfan
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spacemanatee
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