Long considered one of the league's most underrated talents, Aleksander Barkov finally received the recognition he deserved on Wednesday afternoon when it was announced that the superstar center would be representing the Florida Panthers at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game in Tampa.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, this is Barkov's first selection to the All-Star Game.
The Secret's Out: Barkov Headed to First All-Star Game
"Sasha has earned the right to be counted among the League's elite at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game," Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Dale Tallon said in the team's official release. "A cornerstone of our franchise, he is among the game's most exceptional two-way players and is incredibly deserving of this honor."
A demon on defense and a wizard with the puck on his stick, the Tampere, Finland native is in his fifth season anchoring Florida's top line, ranking second on the Panthers with 40 points on 14 goals and 26 assists. Barkov's 22:29 of ice time per game -- up more than three minutes from last season -- are also the most among any NHL forward so far this season, as he averages ample time on both the power play (3:21) and penalty kill (1:56).
"Any pass you throw at him he's going to catch, and any time you're open he's going to find you," Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad told FloridaPanthers.com earlier this month. "It's pretty nice being on the wing. He's just like [Panthers winger Jonathan] Huberdeau, they're skilled, smart players. When you've got a center like that that can skate, is so smart and has such good hands, you've got to be ready at all times."
A two-way terror, Barkov also has to be considered among the early favorites for this year's Selke Trophy, which is given annually to the league's top-defensive forward. While skating 81:36 on the penalty kill, Barkov, who finished 17th in Selke voting in 2016-17, has scored four times - the most shorthand goals in the league - while being on the ice for just three goals against.
In the faceoff circle, Barkov boasts a career-high 53.8 success rate, which is good enough for 29th in the league among the top 100 players in terms of total faceoffs taken. However, when the Panthers need him most he's even better, winning 61.6 percent of his draws in the defensive zone at even strength.
On a team with a minus-17 goal differential, Barkov is a plus-4.
"He's one of the most skilled guys I've played with, maybe the most skilled guy I've ever played with," Panthers center Vincent Trocheck told the Sun Sentinel in October. "Big and strong, he's smart in the D-zone, he's always responsible. He can do pretty much everything. He's not just really good at one thing. He's really good at everything."
The NHL All-Star Weekend will be held Jan. 27-28 at Amalie Arena, home of the Tampa Bay Lightning, beginning with the NHL All-Star Skills Competition on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET and concluding with the NHL All-Star Game on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET.
For the third consecutive season, the NHL All-Star Game will be a 3-on-3 tournament in which stars from each of the four divisions - Pacific, Central, Atlantic and Metropolitan - are pitted against each another, with each team consisting of six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies.
Each game in the tournament will be 20 minutes in length, with teams changing ends at the 10-minute mark of each game. If a game is tied after 20 minutes, it will be decided by a shootout. The winners of each semi-final game will play each other in the final to determine the overall tournament champion.
A schedule events hasn't yet been announced for the NHL All-Star Skills Competition, but there if there is any sort of shootout competition, make sure to take the time to properly prepare your eyes and set your DVRs for Barkov.
With a seemingly bottomless bag of tricks at his disposal, Barkov has created more YouTube highlights and embarrassed more goaltenders than anyone in the entire league over the past three seasons in the shootout, converting on 15-of-21 attempts during that span.
So, whether it's in the All-Star Game or Skills Competition, look for Barkov to make a name for himself.
