JetBlue 2019-20 Season Rewind: Aaron Ekblad

Aaron Ekblad took another big step forward in his development during the 2019-20 season.
Establishing himself as the clear-cut No.1 defenseman on the Florida Panthers, the 24-year-old managed to set new career-highs in both points (41) and assists (36) despite competing in only 67 contests before the regular season came to an abrupt end due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think as a young player, as a defenseman, I think he's got a lot of good attributes,"
Panthers coach Joel Quenneville told Sportsnet when asked about Ekblad in April of 2019
. "I think with young defensemen the first thing you want to be is you want to be predictable defensively.
"You want to make sure that's going to be your staple, that's going to be what makes you a good, strong defenseman. After that, he's got all the other qualities as well. He's big, he's strong, he's physical, he's got a shot. So he's got all the assets you want in a defenseman."
Tasked by Quenneville to shut down the opposing teams' best players each and every game, Ekblad, who finished the season with a +12 rating, led the Panthers in total ice time (1,539:25), including seeing ample amount of time on both the power play (96:47) and penalty kill (136:09).
Armed with one of the most-active sticks on the team, Ekblad excelled at clogging up passing lanes, harassing puck carriers and breaking up zone entries. Most importantly, however, is that he was able to do this without getting into trouble, as evidenced by his career-low 13 penalties.
"I'm just trying to be as reliable as I can defensively and trying to create on the offensive side of the puck as well," Ekblad, a two-time NHL All-Star, said of his ongoing development. "That's kind of always been my goal, to just kind of progress as a player on the ice and learn from some of these guys that have been around a long time and, obviously, from the coaches, too."
Ekblad's best stretch of the season arguably came just before the calendar flipped to 2020.
From Dec. 8-23, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound rearguard registered eight assists, 18 shots on goal and a +8 rating over an eight-game span in which the Panthers went 4-4-0. During that torrid stretch, he racked up three multi-point performances and four games with at least two blocks.
"He's obviously a big piece of our team," Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau said.
Making his second-career trip to the postseason, Ekblad, who the Panthers selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, averaged a team-leading 25:13 of ice time during last month's Stanley Cup Qualifiers, a heated best-of-five series won by the Islanders in four games.
In Florida's Game 3 win over New York, he tallied three blocked shots over 25:15 of ice time.
"We played hard in a do-or-die situation," Ekblad said after the victory. "We asked a lot of each other today, and we came out with a great outcome."
With his sixth NHL season in the books -- time flies, doesn't it? -- Ekblad currently ranks first in goals (71), fifth in assists (141) and second in points (212) by a defenseman in franchise history.

COOL STAT

When Ekblad was on the ice, the Panthers were in control more often than not.
In terms of possession metrics, he ranked first among the team's blueliners in both CF% (53.78) and GF% (56.56) at 5-on-5 play, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. That means that when he was on the ice, both the number of shot attempts and goals were in favor of the Panthers.
Those numbers are even more impressive when you consider the fact that Ekblad started 174 of his 5-on-5 shifts in the defensive zone, which ranked first among all of Florida's defensemen.
Ekblad's best possession game came during a 4-2 loss to Minnesota on Dec. 3. In that contest, the Panthers owned 81.08 percent of shot attempts during the 20:45 he was deployed at 5-on-5. In that time, the team also owned large advantages in shots (17-4) and scoring chances (16-2).

BEST GAME

This comeback had Ekblad's name written all over it.
After lighting the lamp during regulation to give the team a spark, Ekblad went on to record the game-winning goal just 22 seconds into the extra frame to help the Panthers climb all the way back from a 4-0 deficit and secure a thrilling 5-4 win over Anaheim at BB&T Center on Nov. 21.
"We just catch a spark and we run with it," Ekblad said after the win.
Down 4-0 in the second period, Brett Connolly scored a pair of goals just 27 seconds apart to halve the deficit and plant the seeds of the comeback heading into the final frame. Then, at 11:55 of the third period, Ekblad got the Cats within a goal when he blasted home a slap shot.
At 15:37, Ekblad set up Dominic Toninato for a goal right on the doorstep to make 4-4.

In overtime, Ekblad capped off the comeback when he beat Sam Steel to a loose puck along the right boards and fired a shot past John Gibson into the top corner of the net for the winner.
"It's crazy," said Ekblad, who registered the first multi-goal game of his career in the win. "A great team effort. Obviously, we got together between the second and third [periods] and had some words in here. But really it's all belief from every guy.
"You're sitting on the bench, goals are going in, but nobody's freaking out. Everybody's calm, cool and collected. We're confident that we can come back in any situation. We obviously don't want to be in that situation often, but it's a huge win."
In addition to his three points, Ekblad also posted one hit and two blocks against the Ducks.

GOAL OF THE YEAR

It didn't have the excitement of an overtime game-winner, but this goal was smooth as butter.
Quickly gaining control of the puck following a faceoff win by Noel Acciari in the offensive zone, Ekblad darts right toward the net, moves the puck to his backhand and then beats Petr Mrazek to open the scoring and put Florida on top 1-0 at 8:36 of the first period in Carolina on Nov. 23.

"A big emphasis on our game was to start on time, start quick," Ekblad following the game.