From TSN's draftcentre - pretty good summary of what Ekblad projects to be:
http://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/story/?id=442022
"In the summer, a lot of the projections for (Ekblad) were he might not be anything more than a (No.) 4 (NHL defenceman), that he was neither a real offensive threat or a true shutdown defenceman," one scout told TSN. "But the way he played at the Hlinka, this season in Barrie, the World Juniors and the Prospect game, he's showing a lot more range in his game."
While Ekblad will never be a power play quarterback, he can hammer the puck well enough to project as a power play shooter from the point and score goals. Both at the Hlinka and WJC, Ekblad was consistently used in a shutdown role and performed well. Many scouts believe now he has top-pairing NHL potential, a big body who can skate, move the puck, defend, contribute offensively and play both sides of special teams while munching a lot of minutes. After the WJC, Ekblad scored four goals (including a shorthanded marker) and one assist in one game.
"He's not a superstar by any means," another scout said, "but he's going to be a very good NHL defenceman."
Some scouts have taken note of Victor Hedman's emergence, the second overall pick in the 2009 draft, as a top-minute defenceman for Tampa this season and see many similarities in Ekblad.