Which player was the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft?

Aaron Ekblad was the first overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, selected by the Florida Panthers.

The draft took place on June 27, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ekblad, a defenseman from Windsor, Ontario, had played for the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. His combination of size, skating ability, hockey sense, and maturity made him the consensus top selection.

Ekblad entered the NHL immediately and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's rookie of the year for the 2014–15 season. The next selections were Sam Reinhart by Buffalo, Leon Draisaitl by Edmonton, and Sam Bennett by Calgary. A common mix-up is confusing the 2014 first pick with later top selections such as Connor McDavid, who went first overall to Edmonton in 2015.