Cats' defender aiming for club's second Calder in three years.
Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad was named as one of the three finalists for this year's Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's outstanding rookie player. Joining Ekblad are Ottawa's Mark Stone and Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau.
Ekblad, the first overall selection in the 2014 Entry Draft, set franchise rookie records for goals (12), assists (27) and points, (39) while averaging 21:49 TOI. He led the team with a plus-12 rating and suited up in 81 of 82 regular season games. The mature-beyond-his-years defender was recently named to Team Canada's roster for this year's IIHF World Championship.