Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

A Look At Aaron Ekblad

09/23/2017 at 3:26pm EDT

from Matthew DeFranks of the Sun Sentinel,

Inside Aaron Ekblad, there is a duality that exists in a league like the NHL. The Florida Panthers defenseman is 21 years old, a certifiable youngster who turned the drinking age in February and shed his teenager label the yar before. But he’s also entering his fourth season in Florida, a veteran in some ways, having gone through the Calder Trophy-winning rookie season, the euphoria of the franchise’s best year before the crash of last season.

On the ice, Ekblad is one of Florida’s best and most important players. He’s the No. 1 pick from 2014 that enters the first year of his eight-year, $60-million extension this season. He’s the face of the franchise, even with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau and Vincent Trocheck and Roberto Luongo still around.

Off the ice is where the conflict between being 21 years old and a fourth-year professional appears. His friends growing up are going to school instead of making nine figures. They’re not in the NHL. He is, so he changed his summer routine after his season prematurely ended due to head injuries.

Ekbald changed his diet to slim down, and said he separated himself a bit from his friends. He said he was selling his house back home in Windsor, Ontario, and that he would be spending summers in South Florida from now on.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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