Aaron Ekblad (born February 7, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Ekblad was selected first overall in the 2011 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) entry draft, and he was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft and made his NHL debut that year. In his first NHL season, Ekblad was selected for the 2015 NHL All-Star Game and earned the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie in the 2014–15 season. Prior to joining the NHL, Ekblad played major junior hockey for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. He was granted "Exceptional Player" status unanimously by Hockey Canada, thus allowing him to play major junior a year early. Ekblad has played more games and scored more points than any other defenseman in Florida Panthers franchise history. Playing career Amateur 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. Ekblad's application to be the only player born in 1996 in the CHL 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 allowed him to compete in the Canadian Hockey League a year earlier than his eligible age. The only other players to have been given such eligibility are centre John Tavares in 2005, Connor McDavid in 2012, Sean Day in 2013, Joe Veleno in 2015, Shane Wright in 2019, and Connor Bedard in 2020. In the 2014 OHL Coaches Poll, the results of which were released in Toronto, he won top honours in four different categories in the Eastern Conference of the Ontario Hockey League, earning first-place finishes for best shot, hardest shot, best offensive defenceman, and best defensive defenceman. He was also voted second in the category of best penalty killer, behind Oshawa Generals forward Scott Laughton. Professional Florida Panthers Ekblad was selected first overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Florida Panthers on June 27, 2014. He subsequently signed his first NHL contract on September 3, a three-year, entry-level deal with the Panthers. After making the Panthers' opening night roster out