Florida’s Aleksander Barkov is considered an almost perfect hockey player. However, the player himself has not always been satisfied with his condition in the NHL bowls, and therefore the summer training has also been modified.
NOKIA. Alexander Barkov27, learned my hockey skills From Jaromir Jagr a lot at one time. The native of Tampere, who is known as a conscientious trainee, closely followed the Czech legend’s actions during the years together in Florida (2014–2017). Jagr often trained day and night, and Barkov wanted to work with almost the same piety.
Barkov can still be called a lust trainee of some sort, but at Jagr’s level, he won’t move after a long season.
– Jagr has missed a lot in terms of living as an athlete. When the others went to sleep, he went to work out. He might have come to the hall quite tired, but he still left last. A lot of things like that have been left to themselves, Barkov told Urheilu about his own and Patrik Laine in connection with the eponymous charity golf at Nokia.
– I have calmed down a bit from previous years, Barkov adds.
Summer training for new ones
Especially this past summer, Barkov has been thinking about his training in a new way. Florida lost to Vegas in the finals in mid-June. The long season made the summer vacation exceptionally short.
– Yes, that basic condition stays there after playing so much. I like to train a lot, but I’ve done it more sensibly so that I don’t have to go into the season completely tired.
Barkov has refined his training because he did not feel good in the NHL bowls last season. The movement of the Tappara breeder seemed more difficult than a year before, when he forged handsome performances of 39+49 in 67 matches. A year later, in 68 matches, the number of goals dropped to 23 and the points balance dropped to ten.
– I wasn’t personally satisfied with last season in terms of how I felt. You always think about what is the best way to prepare for the season, so that you can play well throughout the season. Do we run a jog or do speed and so on. There are always new things to come.
– The game is getting faster all the time, and there are more skilled guys. The game is no longer about twisting the big boys, but you have to be faster and more explosive than before. You have to be able to move all the time on the field, especially as a centre. You have to go constantly in the defensive area and also have time to attack. You have to be in good shape, Barkov points out.
Florida’s star center has also invested in sharp movement this summer.
– The weight has dropped. Skating should be easier when you don’t have to move such a large mass, Barkov says.
The bar has been raised high
The fairy-tale playoff spring is still fresh in Barkov’s memory. Even though Florida’s bet, which knocked out three early favorites on the way to the finals, froze in the final matches, the captain looks back with a good mood.
– Of course, it’s sad to get so close and fall short, but it was a great experience. It only increased the will to develop as a player and as a team. I’ve been training with a good heart, knowing that everything is possible, Barkov smiles.
Florida’s prospects are quite good at the beginning of the new season. At the same time that the standard winners of the Eastern Conference, like Boston, Pittsburgh, Washington, are in decline, Florida has a chance to be one of the conference’s greats in the coming years.
GM William “Bill” Zito has crushed the team with a big hand over the past three years and there are only ten players left from the team from three years ago. The doors opened this summer as well.
– We’ve had a good deal going on for a few years now. Note that Zito knows what he’s doing, and he’s assembled a good team around him. Everyone wants to be successful. The bar has been raised high and anything below it is not enough for anyone, more so in the office than on the ice, Barkov assures.
Barkov unabashedly praises his new boss, who at the time (1996) was founding the well-known hockey agency Acme Sports together with a well-known player-agent Markus Lehdon with.
– We always call from time to time and not just about hockey. Sometimes it’s about what color lamps to put in the sauna of the dressing room. We have a good balance in terms of not starting to call about any playbook in the summer. You can also see in him how he likes Finnish culture with saunas and all. He always tries to speak Finnish too, Barkov laughs.