Mattias Ekholm

Lore & Background

When the Predators selected Ekholm in the 2011 draft, Nashville was still a franchise searching for its identity, a team that had tasted the playoffs but rarely threatened the upper echelon. The 40th overall pick was a calculated bet on a young Swedish defenseman with the kind of puck skills usually reserved for forwards. Within a couple of seasons, that bet had paid off in spades. Ekholm's ability to carry the puck out of the zone, to find a winger in the slot with a one-timer, and to kill a penalty with quiet composure gave Nashville a dimension its previous blue lines simply lacked.

By the 2016-17 season, Ekholm was the glue between Nashville's veteran core and its hungry young forwards. His chemistry with Weber and Suter created a defensive trio that could dominate possession in the offensive zone, turning what should have been a passive defensive shift into a sustained attack. The result was a team that scored in the top tier of the league while ranking near the top in goals-against, a rare combination that carried Nashville to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history.

The 2017 Finals run, though ultimately ended by Pittsburgh's depth and experience, cemented Ekholm's place in Nashville lore. He was the player fans pointed to when they said, 'We can actually play with anybody.' His calm, methodical style contrasted with the more physical, grinding defensemen who typically anchored a small-market team's identity, and that contrast became part of what made the Predators' brand feel distinct in the 2010s NHL landscape.

In Their Own Story

The ice at the Bridgestone Arena was slick and cold under the arena lights, the kind of night when the crowd noise swells into a low, constant hum that you feel in your chest before you hear it. Ekholm dropped the puck at the blue line, read the rotation, and instead of a safe dump, he carried it. One, two, three skaters closed in. He didn't panic. A quick shoulder fake, a change of edge, and he was past the point, the puck glued to his tape. In the slot, a winger was already peeling off the post. Ekholm released a snap pass that threaded the gap like a needle through silk. The winger buried it before the defenseman could even turn his stick. The arena detonated. Ekholm skated back into his own zone, face unreadable, already reading the next setup. That was the thing about number four: the highlight was just the exhale. The real work was the thirty seconds of quiet positioning before it, the ones nobody on TV would ever see.

Reader's Guide

2011 – The Predators select Mattias Ekholm 40th overall in the second round of the NHL Entry Draft. At the time, Nashville was a mid-pack team with playoff hopes but no true identity. Picking a puck-moving Swedish defenseman signaled a shift toward a more skill-based, offensive blue line, a bet that would define the franchise's next decade.

2012-13 – Ekholm's rookie season. He earns regular minutes and begins establishing himself as a two-way player capable of contributing points from the defensive corps. This early integration mattered because Nashville didn't have to wait years for him to develop; he was ready to be a top-four piece almost immediately.

2016-17 – The defining season. Ekholm, alongside Shea Weber and Ryan Suter, forms a defensive core that carries Nashville to the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. The team's offensive output from the blue line is a key factor in reaching the championship game. The run cements Nashville as a legitimate contender and makes Ekholm a household name among Predators fans.

2017 – Nashville falls to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Finals. The loss is bitter, but the journey validates the franchise's direction. Ekholm's performance throughout the playoffs solidifies his reputation as one of the league's most complete defensemen and gives Nashville a core around which to build for years to come.

Post-2017 – Ekholm remains the offensive anchor of Nashville's defensive structure. His consistency, leadership, and ability to generate offense from the back end keep the Predators competitive in the Eastern and Western Conference power rankings, ensuring the small-market team remains a perennial playoff presence rather than a lottery afterthought.

Did You Know?

• Ekholm was selected in the second round (40th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, a pick that became one of Nashville's most impactful selections of the decade.
• He is one of the few defensemen in NHL history to combine elite offensive production with a top-tier defensive rating while playing for a team that was not a traditional hockey power.
• His 2016-17 season with Nashville helped the Predators reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history, a milestone that redefined what a small-market team could achieve.
• Ekholm's left-handed shot and puck-carrying ability made him a natural fit in Nashville's power-play and odd-man rush systems, adding a dimension to the team's offense that previous blue lines simply didn't possess.