I think Ekblad should be the Flames first choice. There is no one comparable to Mackinnon, Barkov, or Drouin in this years draft; in terms of point production Reinhart, Bennett, Dal Colle, and Draisaitl are comparable to Monahan. It's also worth noting that Monahan played on a worse team than any of them.
Ekblad is comparable to Seth Jones as far as point productions goes. His plus/minus is considerably worse, but he plays for a middle of the pack Barrie Colts teams while Jones played for the league leading Portland Winterhawks. Jones was a better defender than Ekblad was at the same age, but I don't think the difference is as great as it might appear from glancing at their relative plus/minuses. Further, I think that when players are this closely ranked, organizational need should be taken into consideration. While the Flames aren't exactly flush with elite forward prospect, they need defense prospects more. Overall, if Ekblad is still on the table when the Flames pick, they should pick him.
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