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It's hard to envision Aaron Ekblad dropping past No. 2 |
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Despite what Mike Morreale said to Sabres.com concerning the Florida Panthers and the No. 1 overall pick, methinks Florida would be hard-pressed to pass on defenseman Aaron Ekblad.
The NHL.com draft analyst points out the Cats are thin on the wing and he mentions Leon Draisaitl as one to watch for Florida. Morreale referred to him as "that big, power winger" and went on to say that many scouts compare Draisaitl to Jaromir Jagr.
This is fourth time in the last five years that the Panthers will have a top-three pick. They will dictate how the top of the draft will play out and for the next few weeks most eyes will be fixed upon the Sunshine State.
Last year Florida somewhat surprisingly passed on D, Seth Jones and went with C, Aleksander Barkov with the second overall pick.
Center Jonathan Huberdeau was picked with the 3rd overall pick in 2011.
Florida's other top-three pick was big, tough d-man Eric Gudbranson who was taken with the third-overall pick in the 2010 Draft. He was one of three first-rounders for the Cats that year with C, Nic Bjugstad (#19) and LW Quinton Howden (#25) being the others.
The 6'5" 210 lb., all-situations Gudbranson just finished his third NHL season and fared pretty well (save for some injuries) while laying down some heavy hits in a shut down role. As of now he projects out as a top-four d-man with top-pairing potential.
Regardless of how well Gudbranson has played thus far, or what his ceiling may be, the consensus is that Ekblad is a franchise-type defenseman that goes right to the top of the depth chart.
Many of the scouts at the Combine in Toronto are repeating the same thing--defensemen like Ekblad don't come around that often. Said one scout (via the Toronto Sun,) "Those guys are hard to find and when you don’t have one, you are trying to trade to get him. He’s a special player."
With the kind of young talent Florida has up-front and an opportunity to draft the top defenseman--a player many consider the best player in his draft class, period--Cats GM Dale Tallon might find it hard to pass on Ekblad. And he may want to take a look at what Dean Lombardi did in Los Angeles back in 2008.
Drew Doughty was at the top of the heap of a small group of defensemen that year and Lombardi was stuck in the throes of a rebuild. Even though the Kings took defenseman Thomas Hickey #4 overall the year before, they still went with the best player available and picked Doughty with the 2nd overall pick.
None of this takes away from what Morreale said about Florida's lack of depth on the wings (though a team can move a center to wing,) but an NHL-ready shutdown defenseman who has NHL size and strength and who's good on both sides of the puck would be hard to pass up for any team. And that would include Buffalo.
The Buffalo Sabres hold the second pick in the draft and will have a player they consider top-two fall to them.
In looking at the possibility of Ekblad being available to the Sabres at #2, it should be noted that the Sabres have a stable of defensemen 24 yrs. and younger that should begin making their mark in the next year or two. One of them, Tyler Myers, has already made his mark capturing the 2010 Calder Trophy for Rookie of the Year as a 19 yr. old.
Mark Pysyk (2010, #23) has more than paid his dues and looks to be headed to the big club this season. He's a 6'1" 193 lb. defensive defenseman who's cool under pressure and is a quick, accurate passer. Pysyk looks to have top-four potential.
Last year the Sabres snagged two highly touted defensemen in the first round--Rasmus Ristolainen (#8) and Nikita Zadorov (#16.) Both are big bodies with mobility and skill who have plenty of room to grow and look to have at least top-four potential.
After three years at Wisconsin, 2012 2nd round pick (#44) Jake McCabe is headed to Rochester to get his first taste of professional hockey. He seems like the type of player who has the smarts and all around capability to be effective in any role on any pairing, but might really excel as a #4-6 d-man in the NHL.
At this point in time those five are the future of the Buffalo Sabres blueline.
So, with that kind of quality organizational depth on the blueline, and a dearth of talent up-front, why on earth would the Sabres draft Ekblad should he drop to them?
If the scouting reports are correct, and it's understood that projecting 18 yr. olds isn't an exact science, Ekblad could very well surpass all of the defensemen on Buffalo or Florida and end up as a bonafide top-pairing/#1 d-man.
The Sabres grabbing Ekblad with the second pick, said Morreale, is a "no-brainer" a "slam-dunk." Which makes a lot of sense for a 30th place team that should be drafting the best talent available regardless of position.
Time and again GM Tim Murray and AGM Kevin Devine have said that. It's almost as if they're preparing Sabreland for the very possibility of Ekblad being their pick at No. 2.
On WGR's Howard Simon Show back in April, Devine had this to say, "[Tim Murray] is adamant that we'll take the best player. Whoever's the best player at the top of the list, no matter what position. To pass up what we consider to be the best player in the draft doesn't make sense to him."
Passing on an NHL-ready, potential Shea Weber-type d-man for a lesser player at a position of need does not make a lot of sense when you're rebuilding a last place team.
What makes a lot of sense, though, is Florida drafting Ekblad. They have the aforementioned young studs up front and a up-and-comers like Gudbranson and Dmitry Kulikov (2009, #14) already cutting their teeth on the back end. Not only might Ekblad be the best player available in the draft, he also fills a position of need for them.
For Buffalo it might end up being the Battle of the Sam's at the 2014 Draft. Which is all well and good.
God knows the Sabres can use some top-end talent up front.
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