Aaron Ekblad

Aaron Ekblad
Born	(1996-02-07) February 7, 1996 Belle River, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight	213 lb (97 kg; 15 st 3 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
OHL team	Barrie Colts
NHL Draft	Eligible 2014 draft
Playing career	N/A–present

Aaron Ekblad (born February 7, 1996) is a Canadian major junior ice hockey player for the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). A defenceman, Ekblad was selected first overall in the 2011 OHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

In 2010-11, Ekblad competed for the Sun County Panthers minor midget AAA team in Belle River, Ontario. He had 34 points in 30 regular season games and added 21 points in 18 playoff games. He captained the team and lead them to an alliance championship.

OHL

Ekblad’s application to be the only player born in 1996 in the draft was approved unanimously, after a six week review by Hockey Canada. With the approval, Ekblad became the first defenceman ever granted "exceptional player" status. The status allows him to compete in the Canadian Hockey League a year earlier than his eligible age. The only other players given such eligibility were centre John Tavares in 2005, Connor McDavid in 2012 and Sean Day in 2013.

Personal

His brother, Darien, a goaltender, was drafted by the London Knights. Currently, Darien is playing Junior B for the Chatham Maroons, and his OHL rights are owned by the Saginaw Spirit. He attended St. Anne's Catholic High School, and was an honor roll student in the WECDSB.

Awards and honours

• Awarded the 2011 Jack Ferguson Award which the OHL presents annually to the player picked first overall in the OHL Priority Selection.
• Awarded the 2012 Emms Family Award which the OHL presents annually to the league's top rookie.

External links

Aaron Ekblad's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Nail Yakupov	Winner of the Emms Family Award 2011–12	Succeeded by TBD
Preceded by Alex Galchenyuk (2010)	Jack Ferguson Award 2011	Succeeded by Connor McDavid (2012)