{"id":711,"date":"2014-06-21T17:25:52","date_gmt":"2014-06-21T17:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/67richmond.com\/?p=711"},"modified":"2014-07-10T15:02:06","modified_gmt":"2014-07-10T15:02:06","slug":"projected-nhl-first-round-draft-pick-aaron-ekblad-gets-dressed-for-the-occasion-in-amherstburg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/?p=711","title":{"rendered":"Projected NHL first-round draft pick Aaron Ekblad gets dressed for the occasion in Amherstburg"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published in the Rivertown Times <\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Written By Ron Giofu<\/p>\n

\"Aaron<\/a>

Aaron Ekblad (left) of the Barrie Colts chats with 67 Richmond St. owner Peter Leardi Friday afternoon after Ekblad was fitted for a suit at the Amherstburg clothing store. Ekblad, a Belle River native, will be wearing that Jack Victor suit on stage this Friday night at the NHL Draft in Philadelphia.<\/p><\/div>\n

When Aaron Ekblad takes the stage at this Friday night\u2019s NHL Draft in Philadelphia, his clothing will have an Amherstburg connection.<\/p>\n

The Jack Victor suit Ekblad will be wearing has come from 67 Richmond St. with Ekblad being in the Amherstburg clothing store last Friday afternoon for his final fitting. Ekblad, a Belle River native, could go as high as number one in this Friday\u2019s draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Pete Leardi has been helping me out with it,\u201d Ekblad said, referring to 67 Richmond St.\u2019s owner. \u201cHe\u2019s such a good man and he\u2019s really helped me over the years inventing my style. I like to be a little bit flashy here and there but it\u2019s good to be simple and elegant as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

The draft will be \u201cpretty special\u201d for the 6\u20194\u201d, 215 lbs. 18-year-old defenseman.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an anxious time for me and my family. We\u2019ve been working for this my entire life,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ekblad said he has visited with representatives with the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers but, as of last Friday, had not heard from anyone from the Florida Panthers or Buffalo Sabres, owners of the top two picks. He said regardless of who selects him, he will be aiming to make the NHL next season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to be happy to go anywhere,\u201d he said. \u201cI just want to play in the NHL.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Aaron<\/a>

Aaron Ekblad (left) gets fitted for the suit he will be wearing at the NHL Draft by 67 Richmond St. owner Peter Leardi. The fitting took place June 20 with the first round of the draft occurring June 27.<\/p><\/div>\n

While the draft is important, Ekblad added it doesn\u2019t overshadow what he has done on the ice. He has played the last three seasons with the OHL\u2019s Barrie Colts and was also part of the Canadian team at the World Junior Hockey Championships last season.<\/p>\n

\u201c(The draft) is a cool thing to be a part of but I think on-ice accomplishments are more rewarding, for sure,\u201d said Ekblad.<\/p>\n

Leardi stated that having Ekblad in the store was important for him, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is special, for sure,\u201d said Leardi.<\/p>\n

Fellow draft hopeful Hunter Smith has been in the store, Leardi said, as has Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice. New Jersey Devils forward Adam Henrique has been a customer at 67 Richmond St.\u2019s Tecumseh location, Leardi added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published in the Rivertown Times \u00a0|\u00a0Written By Ron Giofu When Aaron Ekblad takes the stage at this Friday night\u2019s NHL Draft in Philadelphia, his clothing will have an Amherstburg connection. The Jack Victor suit Ekblad will be wearing has come from 67 Richmond St. with Ekblad being in the Amherstburg clothing store last Friday afternoon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[55,27,28,29],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-67-richmond","tag-67-richmond","tag-aaron-ekblad","tag-jack-victor-suite","tag-peter-leardi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":714,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions\/714"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/713"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/67richmond.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}