14-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Aaron Ekblad Level 2 Auto Rookie /399

It is a little less than a week away from this year's entry draft and being a Devils fan has gotten exciting for the first time in a couple months ( I wasn't too excited about a coaching change) but we get a chance to draft a piece of our future. Who will it be? Time will of course tell, Ray may have some surprises up his sleeve like the time we landed Cory Schneider or maybe he will just draft the best available player at the time.

Last year the best player in the draft and arguably the best rookie this past season was Aaron Ekblad. In my opinion he was a lock for the first overall pick much like this season's lock will be Connor McDavid. However, how big of an impact would this boy in a man's body actually bring to an NHL club. Well nearly from the beginning it was significant and by the end of the season he was arguably one of the best defenseman in the Eastern Conference. He still has lots to learn but the Panthers have gotten much more exciting thanks to an impressive collection of young forwards, Bobby-Lu in goal and a vastly improved blue line. 

14-15 Upper Deck Trilogy Aaron Ekblad Level 2 Auto Rookie /399

It appears that Trilogy is my love child this season as all the big rookies are in the set and the prices on the secondary market are very very reasonable. I was able to score this card for less than the cost of a pack of Trilogy. I have been a fan of Aaron Ekblad since he was granted exceptional status in the OHL. Internationally Aaron was a rock for the gold medal winning team this past spring at the World Championships and while I think his international resume could grow in the future it might be his only World Championship in the near future because I suspect the Panthers will be a playoff team before long. However, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey (age restrictions don't appear to play in his favour if the projections are correct) and 2018 Olympic Games will definitely feature this talent on Team Canada's blue line.