Panthers Rookie Aaron Ekblad Wins Calder Trophy
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LAS VEGAS (CBSMiami/AP) — Nobody will doubt the young talent that has been compiled by general manager Dale Tallon for his Florida Panthers.
Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad has won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie.
Ekblad accepted the trophy Wednesday night at the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas after winning a tight three-man race with Ottawa's Mark Stone and Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau.
The No. 1 overall pick in last summer's draft, Ekblad scored 39 points with a plus-12 rating for the Panthers.
After turning 19 years old last February, he is the youngest defenseman to win the Calder since Bobby Orr in 1967. Orr just happens to represent Ekblad as his agent.
Ekblad was also one of two Panthers players to participate in the 2015 NHL All-Star Game, joining goalie Roberto Luongo.
Florida has won two of the last three Calder Trophies. Ekblad joins Jonathan Huberdeau, who won it in 2013.
Panthers 2014 first round pick, Aleksander Barkov, was a finalist for the Calder last year.
Ekblad was also named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team on Wednesday, joining Gaudreau, Stone, Predators forward Filip Foresberg, Stars defenseman John Klingberg and Blues goalie Jake Allen.
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