5 Days until the Barrie Colts 2018-19 Home Opener! (Aaron Ekblad) #OHL

There are 5 days until the Barrie Colts 2018-19 home opener!

Aaron Ekblad wore 5 with the Barrie Colts over 3 seasons. Ekblad was just the second player in OHL season to be granted exceptional status. He would then go on to be drafted by the Barrie Colts 1st overall at the 2011 OHL Priority Selection Draft.

After making his OHL debut with the Colts in the 2011-12 season, he would finish the year off with 10 goals and 19 assists in 63 games played. 2013-14 would be his final season with the team. After being named team captain that season, Aaron would put up a career high 23 goals and 30 assists.

After 175 OHL games, the Windsor, ON native would total 40 goals and 76 assists. Here are some achievements over his OHL career.

A look at some of his milestones during his OHL career.

• In 2011 he won the Jack Ferguson Award which is awarded to the OHL's Priority Selection Draft Top Pick of that year. Eric Lindros, John Tavares, Steven Stamkos and Connor McDavid are a few other names you recognize who have also won this award.
• In the 2011-12 OHL Season he won the Emms Family Award which is awarded to the OHL Rookie of the Year. Other winners of this award that you may have heard of are Wayne Gretzky, Mike Gartner, Rick Nash, Bryan Little (with the Colts), Patrick Kane and Connor McDavid.
• In 2013, he helped Team Canada win their 18th Gold medal at the U-18 World Junior Tournament. In his 5 games played he contributed 2 goals and 2 assists. 
• In 2013-14 he won the Max Kaminsky Trophy which is awarded to the OHL's Top Defenceman. Drew Doughty, Marc Staal and Chris Pronger are also past winners of this award.

Aaron would go on to get drafted 1st overall by the Florida Panthers at the 2014 NHL Draft. Since then, he has played 4 seasons with the Panthers and hos totaled 53 goals and 81 assists in 309 games. In 2016-17 the team named him an alternate captain. 

The team signed him to an extension in 2016 which sees him making an average of $7,500,000 million a year until the 2025 season.

Here is his complete list of career highlights per eliteprospects.com.

• 2008-2009 Alliance Hockey Peewee AAA Champion
• OHF Peewee AAA Bronze Medal
• OHF Peewee AAA Championship Top Defenceman
• 2009-2010 Alliance Hockey Bantam AAA Champion
• OHF Bantam AAA Championship Top Defenceman
• 2010-2011 NHLPA AllState All-Canadian Mentorship
• 2011-2012 OHL First All-Rookie Team
• OHL Rookie of the Year (Emms Family Award)
• U17 WHC Bronze Medal
• 2013-2014 Hlinka Memorial Gold Medal
• OHL CHL Subway Series
• OHL First All-Star Team
• OHL Most Goals by Defenseman (23)
• OHL Most Outstanding Defenseman (Max Kaminsky Trophy)
• 2014-2015 NHL All-Rookie Team
• NHL All-Star Game
• NHL Rookie of the Year (Calder Trophy)
• World Championship Gold Medal
• World Championship Most Goals by Defenseman (4)
• 2015-2016 NHL All-Star Game
• 2017-2018 World Championship Top 3 Player on Team

The Barrie Colts will play in their season opener at BMC on Thursday, September 20th vs the Owen Sound Attack.