Top pick Aaron Ekblad exceeding expectations, fueling Panthers' success
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Aaron Ekblad stood by his locker in silence as he patiently awaited the arrival of reporters that would soon surround him after the former No. 1 overall pick had pieced together yet another stellar performance in Saturday's 3-2 victory over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.
No longer wearing his jersey, and with his damp gear airing out in the stall behind him, Ekblad greeted the media sporting an Army hat and West Point cadet jacket that, in accordance with a new team tradition, is given to the team-appointed MVP after each victory.
Calm and collected, the adrenaline of the game no longer pumping through his veins, the rookie defenseman delivered his answers with the confidence and simplicity you would expect from a seasoned veteran.
"Tonight's a good win, I'm pretty happy about it," said Ekblad, who notched career-best three assists in victory. "I think it's a good momentum boost going into St. Louis."
Creating a bevy of scoring chances for his teammates through shots that he describes as "sifters", Ekblad has found early success this season by focusing less on the quality of his shots and more on consistently putting pucks on net.
"It's kind of a skill that you kind of work on," said Ekblad, whose 50 shots on goal lead all Panthers defensemen. "In juniors, before every practice, one of my best buddies, Brendan Lemieux, would stand in front of the net and I'd take about 20 or 30 pucks and shoot them every day. That kind of adds up after a while and that's how I worked on it."
So far, that hard work has certainly paid off.
Just the third 18-year-old defenseman to earn three assists in a single game since 1987, joining Oleg Tverdovsky and Zach Bogosian, Ekblad's 13 assists and 17 points this season place him in a tie for the team's scoring lead with second-year center Nick Bjugstad.
"I call his stick a slingshot because it's off so quick and it's pretty hard," said Bjugstad, who scored the game-winning goal off an Ekblad assist on Saturday night. "He's a good defenseman to have. He's always getting pucks through and always making good plays."
Left-winger Tomas Kopecky, meanwhile, took things a step further when he likened Ekblad's play style to that of a future Hall of Famer and one of hockey's all-time great defensemen.
"He's such a smart player. He kind of reminds me of Nick Lidstrom," said Kopecky who was a teammate of Lidstrom's from 2005 to 2008 in Detroit. "He's so quick on that blue line, every shot is getting through. For the guys standing in front of the net, it's so easy when you know the puck is going to arrive. He gets those pucks through. It's not hard, but they'll get there and that's all that matters."
For Ekblad, comparisons to Hall of Famers and lofty expectations were commonplace even before his NHL career had begun.
Granted exceptional player status as a 15-year-old to play in the Ontario Hockey League, the Windsor, Ontario native has never strayed too far from the spotlight while spending the majority of his teen years in the public eye.
Since his arrival to Florida, however, Ekblad has finally been able to stop looking ahead, and instead plays with a game-by-game mentality.
The player that once stood out as No. 1 among hundreds of NHL Draft hopefuls has found solace and success while being simply one of 23 the roster.
"It is nice for sure," Ekblad said with a smile. "After games you're coming to talk to guys like (Willie Mitchell) and not me. It's nice, I get to kind of relax and quietly go about things and just play my game. That's how I feel and it's been working well.
"It definitely wasn't that way in juniors, especially with it being my draft year and everything. It was a long one and I'm happy to kind of unwind here. But there's no shortage of a challenges here. It's pretty hard. It's not easy to play in this league every day and having guys to lean on is important."
Helping the Panthers to a 4-1-1 record in their past six games, and currently sitting just two points behind the Boston Bruins for the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference standings with three games in hand, Ekblad has already bested nearly every challenge thrown at him this season.
Currently the top-scoring rookie defenseman in the league, and already the 11th-highest scoring 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, the Panthers prodigy also has the potential to make his rookie campaign an all-time great.
In the end, though, the only numbers Ekblad is counting are wins and losses.
"You want to know where you are, but personal stats aren't what guys are looking for. They're looking for winners. Dale Tallon wants winners," said Ekblad. "No one cares about your stats if you're not helping the team win and contributing."
You can follow Jameson Olive on Twitter @JamesonCoop or email him at JamesonOlive@gmail.com.
