There are lots of draft-eligible 6-4 defencemen. Ekblad stands out for his hockey smarts. He's not one of those freak athletes where the assessment is that they have all the tools, they just need to develop a toolbox. Ekblad has the hockey IQ and the willingness to learn. I don't know if he has the dynamic offensive skill to become a Norris-candidate d-man. But he projects to be a very strong workhorse on the back end. It would be foolish to pass him over for anything other than a blue-chip #1 centre, and I don't see one of those in this draft.
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