PHILADELPHIA -- Florida Panthers general manager Dale Tallon kept everyone guessing right up to his announcement to open Fridays NHL draft. "We proudly select, with the first pick overall of the 2014 NHL draft from the Ontario Hockey League," Tallon told a feisty full house at Wells Fargo Arena. And then he paused for dramatic effect. "Aaron Ekblad," Tallon finally pronounced. "I did not know. I was freaking out there for a second when he stopped," said Ekblad, a normally unflappable 18-year-old defenceman from Belle River, Ont., seen as perhaps the most NHL-ready player in the draft pool. "It was breath-taking to say the least." Said a straight-faced Tallon: "I thought we were in show-business. This is entertainment isnt it?" "I made Ekblad sweat a little," he added. With Kingston Frontenacs forward Sam Bennett ranked No. 1 ahead of Ekblad among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting, there was Ontario competition for the top pick. Bennett eventually went fourth to the Calgary Flames. Kootenay Ice centre Sam Reinhart went second to the Buffalo Sabres and Prince Albert Raiders forward Leon Draisaitl was selected third by the Edmonton Oilers. Draisaitl becomes the highest-drafted German-born player in NHL history. Previously that honour was held by Marcel Goc, taken 20th overall by San Jose in 2001. Tallon had two "really substantial" offers for his pick, but elected to stick with the big Barrie Colts blue-liner. "We decided at noon we were going to go this way," he said. Ekblad, who spent three seasons with the Colts, is seen as a potential franchise defenceman who is ahead of many of his fellow juniors in terms of size, strength and maturity. The teenager with Hollywood good looks feels he can help the Panthers in the fall. "Ive said that from the very beginning that I believe in myself and Im confident," he said. "I think if you dont believe in yourself and youre not confident, youre putting yourself behind the eight-ball right off the bat. I believe that if I work hard this summer, I can really step into the NHL next year. Obviously Im going to need a lot of help and its going to be a learning curve, but again Im confident in myself." The six-foot-three 216-pound Ekblad, granted exceptional player status by Hockey Canada to enter the OHL at just 15, had 23 goals, 30 assists and 91 penalty minutes in 58 games last season. Ekblad says he plays "strong responsible defence" while trying to contribute on offence. He is the 13th defenceman to go first overall in the draft and the first since 2006 when St. Louis took Erik Johnson. The Panthers (29-45-8) won the draft lottery ahead of Buffalo (21-51-10) to kick off the draft for the first time since 1994 when they selected defenceman Ed Jovanovski, now 38 and on his second stint in south Florida. Florida also won the draft lottery in 2002 and 2003, but traded away the pick both years. There was a run on blue-liners in the 90s with Roman Hamrlik (1992, Tampa Bay), Jovanovski (1994, Florida), Bryan Berard (1995, Ottawa) and Chris Phillips (1996, Ottawa) all going first overall. The Panthers will be hoping to repeat the success of Colorado last year with the first pick. Centre Nathan MacKinnon jumped directly to the NHL from the Halifax Mooseheads, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as top rookie along the way. After Bennett, Oshawa Generals winger Michael Dal Colle went to the New York Islanders and Calgary Hitmen winger Jake Virtanen became a Vancouver Canuck. Red Deer defenceman Haydn Fleury was chosen seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes, ahead of Modo forward William Nylander (Toronto), Halifax winger Nikolaj Ehlers (Winnipeg) and Peterborough winger Nick Ritchie (Anaheim in a pick obtained earlier from Ottawa). Ehlers becomes the second-highest drafted Danish-born player in NHL history after Mikkel Boedker, picked eighth overall by Phoenix in 2008. The Canucks selected Sault Ste. Marie centre Jared McCann with the 24th overall pick and the Montreal Canadiens took Russian winger Nikita Scherbak of the Saskatoon Blades with the 26th selection. Ottawa did not have a first-round pick, having traded it to Anaheim in the Bobby Ryan deal. After Fridays first round, there will be six more rounds Saturday. Apart from Tallons cheeky delay at the mic, there were few other surprises. The top names all went high. Ekblad was ranked second among draft prospects by the International Scouting Services, which had Reinhart No. 1. Reinhart, an 18-year-old from North Vancouver, is seen as an elite playmaker with good skating and puck skills. The six-foot-one 185-pounder, named WHL player of the year in 2013-14, has true hockey bloodlines. Brother Max was selected by the Calgary Flames in the third round (63rd overall) in the 2010 draft, while brother Griffin was chosen fourth overall by the Islanders in 2012. Father Paul, a 12th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Flames in 1979, played 11 NHL seasons with the Flames and Canucks. The crowd at Wells Fargo Center started a "Lets Go Flyers" chant before the opening roll call of teams. Every other team was greeted with the word "Sucks" as their name was announced -- with the exception of Pittsburgh and Boston, who drew deafening boos. Comcast president Dave Scott, head of the company that owns the Flyers, congratulated the Los Angeles Kings on winning the Stanley Cup -- and defeating the rival Rangers in the final. The feisty crowd loved the kicker. Commissioner Gary Bettman was booed long and loud when he took the stage. "I love your passion," said the unflappable commissioner. The crowd kept booing and Bettman kept up the one-liners as the evening wore on. The Canucks stole much of the pre-draft thunder earlier Friday, sending centre Ryan Kesler to Anaheim and defenceman Jason Garrison to Tampa Bay while acquiring forward Derek Dorsett from the Rangers. For Ekblad, it was "by far the longest day of my entire life." But it ended well. He is the sixth OHL player drafted No. 1 overall in the last eight years, following in the footsteps of Patrick Kane, Steve Stamkos, John Tavares, Taylor Hall and Nail Yakupov. NOTES: The 30 players selected in the first round were born in 10 different countries: Canada (14), United States (five), Czech Republic (two), Finland (two), Russia (two), Denmark (one), England (one), Germany (one), Sweden (one) and Switzerland (one) ... Eight of the first 10 overall picks, including all of the first seven, came from the Ontario Hockey League or Western Hockey League. Ehlers (ninth overall) was the only one from the QMJHL. Terrence Jones Jersey Signed . 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Kenny Anderson Jersey Signed .ca! Hi Kerry, The recent issues in the Boston-Pittsburgh game have highlighted a number of officiating, game control, and player sportsmanship aspects. ARLINGTON, Texas -- If this was Matt Flynns last start in place of Aaron Rodgers, it was quite a memorable one. Flynn threw four touchdown passes in the second half, Eddie Lacy had the winning score on a 1-yard plunge after an interception by Tony Romo gave them one more chance, and the Green Bay Packers matched the biggest comeback in franchise history in a 37-36 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. Romo tossed two interceptions in the final 3 minutes, the first one giving Green Bay a chance for the go-ahead score with the Cowboys in position to run out the clock with a 36-31 lead. Lacy scored with 1:31 to go for Green Bays first lead since the first quarter and after the Packers trailed 26-3 at halftime. "It took me everything not to cry," said Packers coach Mike McCarthy, whose team won its second straight without Rodgers after going winless in the first five, including the Chicago game when the star QB got hurt. "Im just drained. Just the sheer emotion. It was incredible." Playing on the same field where Rodgers was the MVP when they won the 2011 Super Bowl, the Packers matched the 1982 team in a September game against the Los Angeles Rams for the largest rally. The Packers (7-6-1) kept their playoff hopes alive with Rodgers possibly returning next week. He was close to medical clearance, but missed his sixth straight game with a broken collarbone. He was wearing on a headset on Green Bays sideline. "Most guys would pack it in -- Guys, its not our season. Lets go home and get ready for next year," said Green Bay cornerback Tramon Williams, who had an interception overturned on review before a game-clinching pick that was ruled incomplete and reversed on replay. "Its not that vibe here." The vibe in Dallas could negative for a while, with Dez Bryant walking off the field before the game ended and refusing to talk to reporters in the locker room, simply shaking his head at them after finishing with 153 yards and a touchdown. "This is one of the hardest losses that Ive experienced," Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said. "Thats a shame that weve lost that ballgame." The Cowboys (7-7) blew a great chance to pull even with Philadelphia in the NFC East but still control their playoff fate. They finish with Washington and the Eagles. "We still control what we feel like we can get done,," Romo said.dddddddddddd "It just doesnt feel like it right now because we let it slip away." With Dallas leading 36-31, Bryant made a lunging first down after a catch just before the 2-minute warning that looked as if it would Dallas help hold off a huge Green Bay rally. But Romo threw behind Miles Austin after escaping a sack and Sam Shields intercepted at midfield. The Packers steadily moved downfield before the plunge by Lacy, who had 141 yards rushing. Behind for the first time since the first quarter, Romo threw a ball too far in front of Cole Beasley, and Williams made a diving grab that was initially called incomplete. When the video review overturned the call, Flynn ended the game with kneel-downs. "Right now, words really have no effect," Dallas cornerback Brandon Carr said. "Complete debacle the second half. Weve just got to get better, man." Williams had an earlier interception overturned on review with Dallas clinging to a 29-24 lead. He cradled a deflected pass in his arms and had a weaving return to inside the Dallas 10, but replayed showed the nose of ball hitting the turf. The Cowboys went on to score when Bryant made a leaping grab over M.D. Jennings and got two feet down in the back of the end zone for a 36-24 lead. Flynn answered with his fourth straight scoring drive to get the Packers back within five. A Dallas defence that gave up eight straight scoring drives to Chicago in a loss last week let the Packers get touchdowns on five straight drives after halftime. "What a feelin!" said Flynn, who threw for 299 yards with one interception. "As we were taking a knee, we were thinking Is this real? Is this happening?" Romo threw for 358 yards and two touchdowns, but couldnt avoid two more critical mistakes in a career at least partially defined by them. NOTES: DeMarco Murray had 134 yards rushing and a touchdown for Dallas. ... Dan Bailey had five field goals for Dallas. Mason Crosby hit a 57-yarder for the Packers. ... Packers DE Johnny Jolly left the game with a shoulder injury. TE Brandon Bostick came out with a foot injury. ... The Cowboys ended up without their top four linebackers after Justin Durant (hamstring) and Ernie Sims (hip) were knocked out. They were already playing without Sean Lee and Bruce Carter. ' ' '