fans can now officially celebrate the dawning of the Aaron Ekblad era. Two months after selecting him with the first-overall pick at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, the Panthers signed the 18-year-old defenseman to his entry-level contract Wednesday.Florida Panthers We are very pleased to have signed Aaron, said Panthers GM Dale Tallon in a statement. He is a talented, strong, smart and hardworking defenseman who is ready to take the next step in his profe sional career. We look forward to watching him compete and develop at our prospects camp, throughout our main training camp and in preseason competition.Ekblad is expected to make the Panthers roster out of camp after spending the last three years with the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. Tallon's statement even says definitively that he is "ready to take the next step in his profe sional career."The young rearguard first came to notoriety in the hockey world when he was granted exceptional player status by the OHL, which allowed him to suit up in the league a year earlier than everyone else is eligible. He was the first defenseman to earn that distinction and only the second player in the leagues history, with being the first. While at Barrie, Ekblad posted 116 points in 175 career games. In his draft season, the 6-foot-4, 217-pound blueliner Joseph Jonah-Ajonye Jersey had 53 points including 23 goals in 58 games, smashing his previous career highs in both categories. He also was named to Canadas national junior team and played in the World Junior Championship at age 17.Ekblad was the first defenseman selected first overall since the took with the top pick in 2007.Ekblad Injury The Belle River, Ont., native did have a minor setback this summer when he sustained a concu sion at Team Canadas summer evaluation camp for the World Juniors. He took a bad knock in an exhibition game against the Czech Republic. Ekblad recently stated that he resumed skating and will be ready for training camp. The Panthers have good reason to be excited about their top pick. The solid two-way defenseman could make an immediate impact and help bring depth to a blue line thats starting to look pretty strong led by No. 1 D .Ekblad will be competing for ice time with the likes of , the clubs former third-overall pick, , , and longtime NHLer .Expecting Ekblad to knock those guys off their established roles early on would be a little too optimistic probably and the Panthers would do well to ease the youngster into his role. But based on his physical maturity, his progre sion in junior and his overall ability, Ekblad could potentially find himself in a big role by midseason if all goes well. Having the contract out of the way, the team can now focus on seeing just what theyve got as camps begin soon. Arik Gilbert Jersey