Barrie Colts captain Aaron Ekblad was named OHL defenceman of the year on Thursday April 24, 2014.

Ekblad tied for fifth in scoring among OHL defencemen with 53 points in 58 games but led all OHL blueliners with 23 goals.  He becomes just the second member of the Colts to win Defenceman of the Year honours following Erik Reitz in 2002, and is just the third player in their 18-year-old birth year to claim the honour in the past 20 years following Ryan Ellis of the Windsor Spitfires in 2009, and Bryan Berard of the Detroit Jr. Red Wings in 2005 who became the last OHL defenceman to be selected first overall in the NHL Draft.

"I came into this year with a set of goals I shared with no one,” Ekblad said in a release on Thursday. “One of those goals was to be given the Max Kaminsky Trophy. I watched Ryan Ellis as a fan of the OHL and again Dougie Hamilton as a competitor while they stapled themselves as the league’s top defencemen. I idolized these players and fantasized being in their shoes and with the help of my teammates and the opportunity from the coaching staff with the Barrie Colts that moment has finally come."

The Belle River, ON, native is eligible for the 2014 NHL Draft and was listed second among North American prospects by NHL Central Scouting in their final draft rankings. 

Ekblad will be formally presented with the Max Kaminsky Trophy at the OHL Awards Ceremony which takes place June 3 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.  He will also be the OHL’s nominee for CHL Defenceman of the Year.