Aleksander Barkov

Aleksander Aleksandrovich "Sasha" Barkov (Russian: Александр Александрович Барков; born 2 September 1995) is a Finnish-Russian professional ice hockey centre currently serving as captain of the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Barkov was selected by the Panthers in the first round, second overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. He is the son of former Russian hockey player Alexander Barkov Sr. and holds dual Finnish and Russian citizenship.[1] He grew up in Tampere, Finland, where his father was playing for Tappara of the Finnish SM-Liiga at the time. Aleksander Barkov Jr. himself joined Tappara’s junior system and started his professional career with the club in the Finnish Elite League.

This article is about the current ice hockey player. For his father, see Alexander Barkov Sr.

Aleksander Barkov
Barkov with the Panthers in 2015
Born (1995-09-02) 2 September 1995
Tampere, Finland
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Florida Panthers
Tappara
National team  Finland
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2013
Florida Panthers
Playing career 2011–present
Website www.aleksanderbarkov16.com

Playing career

Barkov made his debut in SM-liiga with Tappara on 1 October 2011 and became the youngest player in the league to score a point, with his assist on a goal by Kalle Kaijomaa. The 37-year old record was previously held by Juha Jyrkkiö.[2]

During the 2012–13 season, Barkov suffered a season-ending shoulder injury which required surgery, and he was forced to sit out the rest of the playoffs and the fitness portion of the NHL Combine.[3] Despite this, the final ranking from the NHL Central Scouting Bureau for the 2013 NHL Entry Draft was first overall for international skaters.[4] Barkov was eventually drafted second overall by the Florida Panthers.[5]

On 15 July 2013, Barkov signed his first NHL contract with the Florida Panthers.[6] He became the youngest player since the 1967 NHL expansion to score a goal on 3 October 2013, which he did it in a road game against Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars at the age of 18 years and 31 days.[7] Jordan Staal had previously held that record (for the post-expansion era), scoring his first NHL goal at the age of 18 years and 32 days.[8][9]

In the midst of a successful 2015–16 season in which he was ultimately named a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalist (which he would lose to Anže Kopitar), on 26 January 2016, the Panthers signed Barkov to a new six-year, $35.4 million contract effective from the 2016–17 season through to the 2021–22 season.[10]

The 2017–18 season saw Barkov reach many NHL milestones. He recorded career-highs in assists and points and was invited to the NHL All-Star Game for the first time in his career.[11] He was again named a Lady Byng Memorial Trophy finalist after the 2017–18 season, accumulating only 14 minutes in penalties,[12] which he would lose to William Karlsson.

On 17 September 2018, Barkov was named the Panthers' captain, replacing Derek MacKenzie.[13] On 15 December, in a 4–3 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Barkov scored his first career NHL hat-trick.[14] He scored his second career NHL hat-trick on 17 February 2019 in a 6–3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.[15] On 8 March 2019, in a 6–2 Panthers win over the Minnesota Wild, Barkov become the first Panther to record five assists in a one game.[16] On April 18, for the third-straight season, Barkov was named a finalist for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy, alongside Ryan O'Reilly and Sean Monahan.[17] On 20 June, Barkov was named the winner of the trophy, accumulating just four minor penalties during the 2018–19 season.[18]

International play
Medal record
Representing  Finland
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
2014 Sochi
World Championships
2016 Russia

In December 2011, Barkov was chosen to play for Finland as the youngest Finnish player in the Ice Hockey World Junior Championships.[19] During the quarter-final match on 2 January 2012 against Slovakia, Barkov became the second-youngest player to score a goal at the World Juniors at the age of 16 years and 4 months.[20] The record is held by Kazakhstan's Viktor Alexandrov, who set the record in 2001 at age 15.[21]

Barkov was invited to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi to represent Finland, but suffered a knee injury after two games and was unable to continue playing in the tournament.[22]

In 2016, Barkov and then-Florida teammate Jussi Jokinen were selected to represent Finland at the 2016 IIHF World Championship.[23] Finland won silver after a 2–0 loss to Canada.[24] Barkov ended the tournament with nine points in nine games.

Personal life

Barkov's father Alexander Sr. played hockey in Russia, Italy and Finland, spending the last ten seasons of his career with Tappara.[25][26] When Barkov Sr. ended his professional career with Tappara, the family decided to reside in Tampere. Barkov's mother is also Russian and he has one older brother, Juri.[27] Barkov speaks Finnish and Russian as his native languages (he speaks Russian at home and Finnish elsewhere). He became fluent in English while living in North America during the NHL season. During the regular season, he resides in Boca Raton, Florida with his mother Olga, and in his hometown of Tampere in the summer, where he owns a lakeside villa.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2010–11 Tappara Jr. A 25512176 —————
2011–12 Tappara SM-l 3279164 —————
2011–12 Tappara Jr. A 52352 —————
2012–13 Tappara SM-l 532127488 50552
2013–14 Florida Panthers NHL 548162410 —————
2014–15 Florida Panthers NHL 7116203616 —————
2015–16 Florida Panthers NHL 662831598 62132
2016–17 Florida Panthers NHL 6121315210 —————
2017–18 Florida Panthers NHL 7927517814 —————
2018–19 Florida Panthers NHL 823561968 —————
2019–20 Florida Panthers NHL 6620426218 41342
Liiga totals 8528366412 50552
NHL totals 47915525240784 103474

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2012 Finland WJC-18 4th 7 1 2 3 27
2012 Finland WJC 4th 7 1 3 4 0
2013 Finland WJC 7th 6 3 4 7 6
2014 Finland Oly 2 0 1 1 2
2015 Finland WC 6th 8 3 4 7 4
2016 Finland WC 9 3 6 9 2
2016 Finland WCH 8th 3 0 0 0 0
Junior totals 20 5 9 14 33
Senior totals 22 6 11 17 8

Awards and honours
Award Year
Liiga
Kanada-malja Runner-up 2013
NHL
NHL All-Star 2018
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 2019 [28]
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References
  1. "Cats Nab Barkov With Top Pick". Florida Panthers. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
  2. "Aleksander Barkov junior teki SM-liigahistoriaa" (in Finnish). Yle Sports. 4 October 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2019.
  3. Smith, Michael (17 June 2013). "Draft Profile: Aleksander Barkov". National Hockey League. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  4. "NHL CSS 2013 Final Pre-Draft Rankings". sportsnet.ca. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  5. "Florida Panthers Select C Aleksander Barkov Second Overall in 2013 NHL Entry Draft". National Hockey League. 30 June 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  6. "Florida Panthers Agree to Entry-Level Contract With F Aleksander Barkov". Florida Panthers. 15 July 2013.
  7. Kimelman, Adam. "Monahan joins Barkov among youngest scorers" (5 October 2015). National Hockey League. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  8. Odebralski, Glenn (10 October 2013). "Panthers Wrap-Up: Panthers 4, Stars 2". National Hockey League. Retrieved 10 October 2013.
  9. "Player Game Finder, Hockey-Reference". Hockey-Reference.com. 5 October 2013. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2013.
  10. "Aleksander Barkov signs new contract". ESPN. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  11. "Panthers Forward Aleksander Barkov Named to 2018 NHL All-Star Game". National Hockey League. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  12. "Lady Byng Trophy finalists unveiled". National Hockey League. 20 April 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  13. "Aleksander Barkov takes over as captain of Florida Panthers". sportsnet.ca. 17 September 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  14. Poupart, Alain (16 December 2018). "Barkov hat trick boosts Panthers to OT win against Maple Leafs". National Hockey League. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  15. Poupart, Alain (17 February 2019). "Barkov gets hat trick, Panthers hand Canadiens fourth straight loss". National Hockey League. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  16. "Barkov breaks franchise record as Panthers top Wild". sportsnet.ca. 8 March 2019. Retrieved 9 March 2019.
  17. Florida Panthers (18 April 2019). "Aleksander Barkov Named a Finalist for the 2018-19 Lady Byng Trophy". Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  18. "Barkov of Panthers wins Lady Byng Trophy". National Hockey League. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
  19. "Granlund brothers highlight Finland WJC camp roster". National Hockey League. 5 December 2011. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  20. McGran, Kevin (8 December 2012). "World junior hockey championship: Top 10 players to watch". Toronto Star. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  21. Merk, Martin (3 January 2012). "Younger than Crosby". iihf.com. Calgary. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  22. Klein, Jeff Z. (24 February 2014). "Injuries at the Olympics Deplete Several Rosters". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  23. "Aleksander Barkov, Jussi Jokinen to Represent Team Finland at 2016 IIHF World Championship". National Hockey League. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
  24. "Panthers' Matheson Wins Gold Medal with Team Canada at IIHF World Championship". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. 22 May 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
  25. "Aleksander Barkov Snr player profile". hockeydb.com. 2 January 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
  26. "Draft prospect profile Aleksander Barkov". Florida Panthers. 27 June 2013. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  27. "Tappara diamond Barkov thinks with club, not general public". Helsingin Sanomat. 19 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
  28. "Barkov of Panthers wins Lady Byng Trophy". National Hockey League. 19 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mike Matheson		 Florida Panthers' first round draft pick
2013		 Succeeded by
Aaron Ekblad
Preceded by
William Karlsson		 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
2019		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Derek MacKenzie		 Florida Panthers captain
2018–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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