This seems so fitting. It was 10 years ago this month when Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl and Sam Bennett were clearly the top four players entering the 2014 NHL Draft, though nobody knew what the order of their selection was going to be. They all went through the draft process together.
New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad skates with the puck as Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad defends during the first period of Game 6 in the Eastern Conference finals of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Sunrise, Fla.
“It’s cool,” Reinhart said. “We’ve got a couple of us in this room and Leon, I played a lot against him in junior. He’s obviously transitioned into one of the most dangerous players in the game. It presents a great opportunity for us and a great challenge for us.”Rangers’ core looks to next season to finally reach Stanley Cup FinalIf nothing else, this final might provide a moment to offer much respect to the people who scouted that 2014 draft. They pretty much got it right. Ekblad went No.
They were expected to be great when they got picked. They’ve delivered. And in his first news conference after getting selected No. 1 overall in that draft, Ekblad lauded the three other players that he’s always going to be linked to because of that night. Obviously, they’re not all rooting for each other over the next couple weeks. None of them have ever hoisted the Stanley Cup. Florida is in the Cup final for the second straight year after waiting a quarter-century for another shot at the title; Edmonton is playing for the Cup for the first time since 2006, long before Draisaitl arrived in Alberta.
Leon Draisaitl Aaron Ekblad Sam Reinhart Sam Bennett National Hockey League NHL FL State Wire Stanley Cup Stanley Cup Playoffs Edmonton Sports Florida Stanley Cup Finals Edmonton Oilers NHL Hockey
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