| Jackson Ekblad | Williston HS | North Dakota HS | R | D | 6’4″ | 194 | Williston, ND | 2004 | 2021-2022: C |
Neutral Zone NHL’s Ian Moran’s comments, August 2021: I remember Jackson very well from his first 2004 National Camp in the Summer of 2019. Defensively he still looks to punish players, but he doesn’t seem to run around as much. He’s more in control and patient. He seems to be willing to let the big hits come to him rather than running out of position looking to hammer someone. My feeling is that most people thinks he’s good at blocking out in front of his net because he’s so big and powerful, but to me he’s successful at clearing lanes because he shows good anticipation. When he’s defending below the goal line or as the weakside defender Jackson reads the puck progression early and beats his man to the post, or wins the race to the net so his goalie can see the shots coming early. Offensively he locates the open man and moves it quickly. In transition Jackson reads off his partner and works to be a back diagonal option in the neutral zone. He understands how to make a touch pass to his partner below the goal line. He also knows that it’s ok to fight another another day and by that I mean that he will use the glass to alleviate pressure rather than make a blind hope play up the middle. But I mean lets face. All of that is a bonus. Where he’s going to make his money is being a punishing 6’4″ 230 pound physical presence who nobody wants to play against. He needs to be a machine in his end, clearing lanes and making life hell for opposing forwards. If he has the mindset do that every night National League development coaching staffs are going to be drooling over the opportunity to work with him developing the rest of his game because he shows the athleticism to make it worth their while.
USA Hockey Selects 17’s, July 14, 2021: Ekblad is a tall, long, highly athletic defenseman out of Williston HS in North Dakota. He has a versatile skill set in that he plays a hard, physical game in his own end but also can carry the puck up ice, lead rushes or move it quickly in the transition game. He used his reach to keep pucks in the offensive zone and break up passes in the neutral zone. He has athletic intelligence and can read opponents hips and body movement to know where they are going and does a nice job closing the gap and playing the body. He has decent moves on the breakout to get off forechecker pressure and has a firm, accurate first pass. He had one play where he was getting forechecked hard and slashed but kept his stride, fought through the check and delivered a hard backhand across the neutral zone on the tape. Ekblad has impressive size and strength, he can lean on forwards and separate them from the puck and steal pucks. He has an active stick, he clogs lanes, takes away options and moves pucks up ice quickly both direct and indirect. Liked his game below the dots as he can play with good power and toughness but is also mobile, athletic and can defend with his stick and his footwork as well. Tough opponent to get around. Arguably the best kept secret in the 2004 age group in the US as he’s uncommitted and undrafted in both USHL and WHL. Major upside with this prospect. Grade: A-
USA Hockey Select 15 Development Camp, August 2019: Jackson is strong and tough. He makes body contact with authority and wants to put players into the second row. By the end of the week it looked like the other teams were physically avoiding him. He made life miserable for opposing players and consistently knocked players on their backsides. He is at his best when he keeps it simple offensively and he knows that. He rarely got himself in trouble and was one of the best defenders at using indirect passes to beat a forecheck. We noted that he had 4 intentional blocked shots and that he did very well on the penalty kill. His point shots were never blocked and he would shoot through lanes rather than hit shin-pads. Jackson is a developing beast. Remember his name. Grade: B
Photo Credit: Dan Hickling/Hickling Images
Game Stats are from InStat.