NHL: The last five number one picks and where they are now

5. Aaron Ekblad

Aaron Ekblad has been a very dynamic player from the start of his career with the Florida Panthers. He is a good sized player, with an accurate shot, and very well defensive minded who can also back check well to help the teams’ play. Ekblad certainly has the potential to be an excellent player for any team that he is a part of.

Although the Panthers have been a struggling team for quite some time, Ekblad has still been an important asset to the team. With players like Jonathan Huberdeau, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Aleksander Barkov, this will not only boost Ekblad’s potential but it will definitely help the Panthers to success.

Ekblad also has a few awards to showcase his talent as well. Ekblad was the 2015 Calder Trophy winner and it was a well deserved award for his outstanding rookie performance. It is challenging for Defenseman to be awarded such a highly regarded trophy but Ekblad’s performance showed that this challenge was accomplish able.

It is unsure whether or not Ekblad will be a franchise player for the Panthers but if he is traded, it will be an important one. A trade involving Ekblad will require a lot of money and good players involved. Ekblad certainly has a lot of potential for the rest of his career no matter what team he is a part of.

However staying on the Panthers will certainly lead to better performance for the team. No matter what roster he is on, Ekblad will definitely contribute well to the team and be a solid entertainment to the NHL.