Amateur In 2010–11, Ekblad competed for the Sun County Panthers minor midget AAA team in
Belle River, Ontario. He had 34 points in 30 regular season games and added 21 points in 18 playoff games. He captained the team and led them to an alliance championship. Ekblad's application to be the only player born in 1996 in the
Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft was approved unanimously, after a six-week review by
Hockey Canada. With the approval, Ekblad became the first defenceman ever granted
exceptional player status. The status allowed him to compete in the OHL a year earlier than his eligible age. The only other players to have been given such eligibility are
John Tavares in 2005,
Connor McDavid in 2012,
Sean Day in 2013,
Joe Veleno in 2015,
Shane Wright in 2019,
Connor Bedard in 2020 and
Michael Misa in 2022. In the 2014 OHL Coaches Poll, he won top honours in four different categories in the Eastern Conference of the OHL, earning first-place finishes for best shot, hardest shot, best offensive defenceman, and best defensive defenceman. He was also voted second in the category of best penalty killer, behind
Oshawa Generals forward
Scott Laughton.
Professional Ekblad was selected
first overall in the
2014 NHL entry draft by the
Florida Panthers on June 27, 2014. After making the Panthers' opening night roster out of training camp for the
2014–15 season, Ekblad made his NHL debut on October 9, against the
Tampa Bay Lightning. In the game, he scored his first NHL point, an assist on a
Jonathan Huberdeau goal, in Florida's eventual 3–2 loss in overtime. Ekblad later scored his first NHL goal on November 1, against
Steve Mason of the
Philadelphia Flyers in a 2–1 win. On December 6, in a game against the
Buffalo Sabres, Ekblad scored a career-high three points in a 3–2 Panthers victory, the first Panthers rookie to record a three-point game since
Dan Boyle during the
1998–99 season. Ekblad was also named the game's first star for his performance. On January 23, 2015, Ekblad was named as an injury replacement for
Colorado Avalanche defenceman
Erik Johnson at the
2015 NHL All-Star Game. In the game, Ekblad recorded four assists for
Team Toews in their 17–12 victory over
Team Foligno. Ekblad finished his rookie season with 12 goals and 27 assists (39 points) in 81 games played for Florida. Following the conclusion of his rookie season, Ekblad led all rookie defencemen in goals, power play goals (6), power play points (13), shots (170) and fewest shot attempts against per 60 minutes (38.04). He also finished second in assists,
plus-minus (+12), hits (109) and blocked shots (80), while also averaging 21:48 of ice time per game. Ekblad also set a new franchise record for rookie defencemen in goals, assists, and points, surpassing
Ed Jovanovski. On April 23, Ekblad was named one of three finalists for the
Calder Memorial Trophy – awarded annually to the NHL's rookie of the year – along with
Mark Stone of the
Ottawa Senators and
Johnny Gaudreau of the
Calgary Flames. On June 24, Ekblad was announced as Calder Memorial Trophy's winner. During the
following season, Ekblad missed four games in January 2016 to recover from a concussion he had endured from a hit delivered by
Matt Hendricks of the
Edmonton Oilers. Hendricks was suspended three games for the hit. On July 2, 2016, Ekblad and the Panthers agreed to an eight-year, $60 million extension. He was also named an alternate captain. During the
2016–17 season, Ekblad suffered another concussion during a game against the Tampa Bay Lightning and missed four games. On February 3, 2018, Ekblad became the 15th defenceman in NHL history to reach double-digits in goals in each of his first four seasons. On March 28, 2021, Ekblad was stretchered off the ice following a collision with
Dallas Stars' defenceman
Esa Lindell. He underwent surgery to repair a left leg fracture the following day and was ruled out for 12 weeks, effectively ending his season. On March 18, 2022, Ekblad recorded three assists in a 5–3 loss against the
Vegas Golden Knights, giving him 291 career points, the most by a defenceman in Panthers franchise history, surpassing
Róbert Švehla. On December 16, Ekblad played his 574th NHL game, a 4–2 loss to the
Pittsburgh Penguins, surpassing Švehla for most games played by a defenceman in Panthers' history. On June 24, 2024, Ekblad won the
Stanley Cup when the Panthers won the seventh game of the
2024 Stanley Cup Final. On March 10, 2025, Ekblad was suspended 20 games for violating the NHL's performance-enhancing drug use policy after failing a random drug test. He became the first NHL player to be suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs since
Nate Schmidt in 2018. In a statement, Ekblad claimed that he failed the test after taking something which he did not specify to help recover from an injury without checking with team personnel; he did not appeal the suspension. On June 30, 2025, Ekblad and the Panthers agreed to an eight-year, $48.8 million extension. The signing was viewed as a significant discount from Ekblad to remain with the Panthers and continue to contend for future championships, with Ekblad's contract being a yearly paycut from his previous deal after it was expected that he would sign a contract worth several million more in unrestricted free agency. ==International play==