Finnish hockey player Alexander Barkov: biography and sports career

Barkov Alexander, whose biography is presented in this article, is a famous Finnish hockey player with Russian roots. He is the holder of the bronze medal of the 2014 Olympics and the silver medal of the 2016 World Cup. He is in favor of the NHL Florida Panthers.

Biography and the first sporting successes

Barkov Alexander Alexandrovich was born in September 1995 in the Finnish city of Tampere. His father - in the past, a famous Soviet and Russian hockey player, so it is not surprising that his son soon followed in his footsteps.

From a young age Barkov Alexander has established himself as a talented central striker. Already at the age of 16 he debuted for having brought up his club "Tappara" in the Finnish SM-league as a professional player. And in this match, Alexander recorded in his active transfer, thus becoming the youngest hockey player, who scored points in the tournament.

In the CM-league Barkov played two seasons, during which he played in 85 matches, scored 28 goals and made 36 assists. Thanks to these indicators, the young striker becomes a welcome acquisition for many eminent clubs in Europe and North America. In 2012, Alexander Barkov in the draft was chosen "Locomotive" from Yaroslavl, who played in the KHL. A year later, the striker drafted the NHL Florida Panthers, who offered him a standard three-year contract for the newcomer.

Career in the NHL

Starting with the season 2013/14, Alexander Barkov - hockey player "Panthers". In October, in a game against the Dallas Stars, he threw the debut puck and became the youngest player in the NHL since 1967. In the first season, Alexander played in 54 regular season matches, in which he scored 24 (8 + 16) points.

In the following two seasons, Barkov honed his skills, increasing his effectiveness every year. In 2014/15, he scored 36 (16 + 20) points in 71 fight, and in the next updated the record with 59 (28 + 31) points in 66 games.

According to the results of the NHL regular season 2015/16, the club from Florida entered the Stanley Cup play-off series, where the New York Islanders lost 2: 4 in the quarterfinals. Barkov played in all six fights, scored two goals and once again assisted the team-mate.

In 2016, the Finnish striker extended the contract with the "Panthers" for 6 seasons. The total value of the contract was approximately $ 35 million.

International performances

Since Alexander Barkov has dual citizenship, he could choose which country to perform - Russia or Finland. Since he did not wait for the challenge to the junior Russian team, in 2012 he made his debut for the Finns at UChM. At this tournament he became the second-oldest player - the author of the puck at the junior championship. Alexander at that time was only 16 years and 4 months old.

At the youth level, Alexander Barkov was not able to win any medals in international tournaments as part of his national team. But at the adult level, the reward came at once. At the Olympic Games in Sochi, the Finnish team made a sensation by winning bronze medals. Alexander Barkov took part in two matches, in which he noted one effective transfer.

Two years later, the Finns reached the finals of the 2016 World Cup, where they were able to stop the Kafnadis. At this tournament, Barkov Jr. played 9 games, in which he scored 3 goals and gave 6 assists.