LAS VEGAS (AP) – Florida 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.
Florida has won two of the last three Calder Trophies. Ekblad joins Jonathan Huberdeau, who won it in 2013.
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