Who’s This Guy? Aleksander Barkov

Photo: Tappara

• Another European skater, Barkov spent last season with Tappara of the SM-liiga. He racked up 48 points in 53 games on his way to the SM-liiga silver medal (though his season ended early thanks to a shoulder injury). He has been playing in the SM-liiga since he was just sixteen years of age and has been under the eyes of scouts for quite awhile now, having held onto the first overall European skater ranking (Central Scouting Service) through to the final list.
  

• Being placed in a setting with older players at an early age has apparently seasoned Barkov, whose above-average playmaking abilities are what got him there in the first place. He also never appears to be rattled by his surroundings, finding the right play to make with the help of his smarts and hockey vision. While he lacks a little bit in the skating department, his entire skill-set is more than enough to make people forget about that. He is a great overall package that would make any team “settling” for the leftovers of the top-5 very happy.

• He reminds people of Saku Koivu’s brother Mikko with his calm, cool collectiveness.

• Barkov, who also goes by Sasha, holds dual Finnish and Russian citizenship. Internationally, he represented Finland at age 16 in the 2012 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships and during that tournament, became the second-youngest player ever to score a goal on this stage of the IIHF.
• Similarly, he was the youngest in the SM-liiga when he joined in 2011 (having just turned 16 a month previous to his debut) and his first point made him the youngest player in that category as well.
• His father is an assistant coach with AK Bars Kazan of the KHL, having had a lengthy playing career of his own that ended nine years ago.
• His favourite player was Eric Lindros growing up, and his favourite team was the Colorado Avalanche. (Interview can be read here.)

“It seems like he has been around forever. I saw him in Calgary at the World Juniors and again that spring in the Czech Republic at the U18 tourney. I can’t imagine a scenario where he gets past the 4th pick. If I had to pick I will still guess that Tampa goes Drouin but I won’t be shocked if they select Barkov. He is strong on the puck, protecting it effectively. This is increasingly dangerous because of the high level of creativity Barkov possesses. He produces points using a great combination of shooting and passing ability.”