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Originally Posted by Caged Great
I don't see the problem with having doubts on Ekblad being super awesome amazing. He is very good, but he doesn't have any skill that was clearly elite. He doesn't have the hockey sense/fluidity that Doughty had, and that's pretty much the last super D prospect from the top 5 in the last while.
Ekblad has a very good shot, is big, is quickish for someone that size and looks good overall, but there's not something that separates him from the Hedman tier of guys. He doesn't have Pronger's mean streak, he doesn't have Al Iafrate or MacInnis' slap shot, he is not Pavel Bure fast. Nothing that you could say is exceptional.
That's not much of a knock though because really how many in history have had those exceptional skills. He should still be at worst an elite #3, with it being more likely that you're getting a good #2 or possible #1 D-man. Can't really complain with that.
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A lot of the time a defenceman isn't noticed and mostly this is a good thing. A consistent defenceman who doesn't make too many bone head plays can be hard to find. From what I've heard he has good hockey sense which is maybe the best quality a defenceman can have. He also has some other fine qualities as you say. I like defencemen and generally think they are more valuable than forwards, so I think Ekblad is worthy of his first ranking and if we have a chance, I'd grab him.