Aleksander Barkov values the Sportsman of the Year title very highly.
Urheilu followed the Sports Gala moment by moment in this article.
Captain of the NHL club Florida Panthers Alexander Barkov made history at the Sports Gala when he became the first ever ice hockey player to be selected as Sportsman of the Year in Finland.
Barkov, who has been one of the NHL’s most respected players for years, lifted the Stanley Cup at the end of the 2023-2024 season as the first Finnish captain. The moment in question was also voted the most moving sports moment of the year.
The Panthers’ number one center played a key role in the playoffs with his brilliant two-way game. Barkov was the team’s most efficient scorer (8+22). In the regular season, he scored 80 points.
In the last NHL season, Barkov won the Selke Trophy for the best defensive forward for the second time in his career.
For Barkov, the Athlete of the Year title is a great honor.
– It is a really great honor to be the first hockey player in history to be named Athlete of the Year in Finland. There are so many good athletes in Finland that it raises its value even more. This goes really high in my achievements, Barkov praised in the interview.
The Finns also experienced the Florida championship Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen, Niko Mikkola and a coach Tuomo Ruutu.
A long career
Barkov was drafted by Florida as the second player in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by Nathan MacKinnon after. Barkov made his debut in the top league in the fall of the same year.
The 29-year-old Finn has played 772 regular season games, in which 749 points have been generated. He is fifth in all-time Finnish statistics Teemu Selänten, Jari Kurrin, Saku Koivun and Olli Jokinen after.
In Finland, there is a fierce debate every year about the selection of the Athlete of the Year. Sometimes there is even an argument about why an athlete in a certain sport is better than another. We often refer to how big the species is worldwide.
Ice hockey is not a big sport in the world, but in Finland the sport enjoys enormous popularity year after year.
The 29-year-old Barkov has listed who has been chosen as Athletes of the Year in recent years. He himself did not speculate on his own possibilities.
– I haven’t really thought about it. Lauri Markkanen was elected last year. In the near future, the discussion has been followed a little.
The long wait is over
Barkov is proud of his Finnishness. He is taken from the fact that Finns are quoted in the world, like in North America in the NHL.
– Finland is a really important and dear country to me. I spend as much time there as I can, and after my career I’m sure even more. It’s been great growing up in Finland and jumping from there to the world. I have been in the same place for more than ten years, but Finland is still an important place and it is a great honor to call myself Finnish.
Barkov has been one of Finland’s toughest sports stars for years. He hasn’t been seen in a national team shirt in ages.
Barkov was last seen in Leijon at the World Cup in the fall of 2016. In the spring of the same year, he was on the way to winning World Cup silver for Leijon together with, among others by Mikael Granlund and young people Patrik Laine, Sebastian Ahon and Mikko Rantanen with.
The long wait will probably end in February, when Barkov will participate in the four-nation top tournament for NHL players. In addition to Finland, Canada, the USA and Sweden are participating.
– It’s been 8–9 years since he got to put on the national team shirt. It increases the value of the tournament. I get to play with top players. You get to see how they train and prepare and otherwise just be with them.
– I have great respect for those who have previously worn the Leijonat shirt. Because of them, it must be carried even more honorably in future events.