Barkov adjusting to new role as Panthers captain

HELSINKI -- Aleksander Barkov took advantage of the rare opportunity to be in Finland during the season and traveled from Hensinki to his native Tampere, where the Florida Panthers forward visited a sauna and enjoyed his mother's home cooking on Monday.

He was back to work at practice at Hartwall Arena on Tuesday, where the Panthers will play the Winnipeg Jets in the
NHL Global Series
on Thursday (2 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TSN3, NHL.TV) and Friday. Barkov is armed with the task of helping the Panthers (2-4-3) bust out of their early-season woes and he'll have to do so in front of family and friends in Finland's capital city, where he and Jets forward Patrik Laine will be the stars of the show.
It's a good test for Barkov, who said Tuesday he doesn't think much has changed since being named Panthers captain on Sept. 17, replacing forward Derek MacKenzie.
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Although he has noticed one perk in particular.
"The only thing that's good is I'm the first guy who gets the meal on the plane," he said.
The joke cracked up the large media contingent that attended Panthers practice, but it was also another sign of the 23-year-old center coming out of his shell.
"The more you get to know him, he opens up a bit more," Panthers defenseman Mike Matheson said. "He's a shy person, but the more you get to know him he's actually really funny. He's super outgoing.
"I'm sure part of him felt a little bit nervous at the beginning of the year. But I think he's gotten a lot more comfortable with it for sure."
Barkov's captaincy is still in its infancy, but it's being tested early; the Panthers scored seven goals during their three-game road trip to the New York metropolitan area last week. But Barkov insisted his new role hasn't been a burden.
"I don't know about the challenge [of being captain]," Barkov said. "I try to do the same thing I've been doing, and that's lead by example. Of course, I have to talk a little bit more and do this media stuff a little more."

Despite the lack of results, coach Bob Boughner has been pleased with what he's seen from Barkov's leadership abilities thus far.
"It's a new role for him," Boughner said. "I think he's growing into it. I think that he's got a good leadership group around him to help him. I had a couple of talks with him earlier on, a few games back, I thought he was putting a little too much pressure on himself to do it all himself. His game was a little bit uncharacteristic.
"Since that talk, he's been a lot better. He understands that … the biggest thing with [Barkov] is how people follow him and what he does on the ice. He's being more vocal off the ice. He's taken a big role here in Finland; he planned a full day for the guys the first day we got in here (on Sunday). They had some fun. Those are things he's probably not used to doing, but I think he's going to grow into it. He's a good leader, [but] I think he's going to be a great leader."
Barkov had an NHL career high 78 points (27 goals, 51 assists) last season and was at the forefront of the Panthers' strong second half that nearly landed them a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, missing by one point. Boughner applauded the effort on Tuesday, but he and Barkov know more will be expected. Barkov has two goals and six assists in nine games this season.
"He's got to take this team into the playoffs," Boughner said. "We've got to win. I think that's the next step for this organization, along with [Barkov]. We have good pieces in place; I think that we've got to continue to build around the foundation.
"[Barkov] had a great regular season last year, but you ask any of these players, that's not what it all about. You want to get your team into the playoffs and you want to go for a run. I believe he'll do that."
Barkov's teammates believe he will, too.
"He deserves it for sure," Matheson said. "He's not really the guy that's going to stand up and say a big long speech or something like that. He's the type that does it by example.
"He has the respect of every single guy in the locker room, more so than I've seen on any other hockey team. He's definitely the right guy to have the captaincy."