Montreal Canadiens: Ranking Past 10 First Overall NHL Draft Picks

4. Aaron Ekblad

The Florida Panthers had the first pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and settled on Aaron Ekblad. It is hard to suggest they made the wrong pick, even knowing Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl were taken right after him.

Ekblad is the prototypical two-way, all-around defender. He just does everything right on the ice at both ends, plays in all situations and helps the team out on the man advantage as well as on the penalty kill.

He averaged nearly 25 minutes per night this season on the President’s Trophy winning team. Considering they had goaltending questions all season, a big right shot defender who can play nearly half the game is a big reason they were able to have so much success in the regular season.

Add in the fact he scored basically a point per game with 57 in 61 games, including 15 goals from the blue line, and you have yourself a Norris Trophy contender. Again, in 2014, the team that picked first overall ended up with an elite player and zero complaints.