‘Oh captain, my captain’: Panthers’ Barkov ready to lead Finland in 4 Nations Face-Off
Aleksander Barkov has been longing for this moment. It has been nearly a decade since he last wore the Finland sweater, since he last had the chance to represent his home country on an international stage.
The Florida Panthers’ star gets that opportunity again starting Thursday when he serves as the captain for Team Finland as part of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which will feature the NHL’s top players from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden and is serving as a reintroduction of sorts to NHL players participating in best-on-best tournaments.
“Oh captain, my captain, right?” said Panthers center Anton Lundell, who is one of four Panthers players on Team Finland along with Barkov, forward Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola. “He’s a leader. It wasn’t a surprise. He should be the captain.”
It’s the latest major moment for Barkov during the past year. In June, he became the first Finnish captain to lead his team to a Stanley Cup when the Panthers beat the Edmonton Oilers in seven games.. In November, he and the Panthers played two games in his hometown of Tampere, Finland, sweeping the back-to-back set against the Dallas Stars. In January, he was named Finland’s Athlete of the Year — the first hockey player to win the honor since its inception in 1947.
And now, he’s the captain for his country’s team.
“It’s a huge honor,” Barkov, 29, said. “I never really dreamed about that, but it’s a huge honor. I’m thankful for the opportunity to be the captain of the national team. I can’t wait to get going in the tournament.”
Barkov is no stranger to being a captain. He has worn the “C” on his Panthers sweater since the start of the 2018-19 season. That experience helps, he said, and gives him the understanding of what he’ll need to do while representing Finland.
“I just want to be myself,” Barkov said. “I don’t want to be anything else.”
This will be the fifth time Barkov has represented Finland at the senior level. He was on the country’s bronze medal team at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the World Championships teams in both 2015 and 2016 (Finland won silver in 2016) and the World Cup of Hockey team in 2016. Overall he has six goals and 17 points in 22 games of international action at the senior level.
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is the last time NHL players took part in an international tournament.
“It’s been awhile for me since I got a chance to play for Team Finland and represent my country,” said Barkov, who holds just about every Panthers career record for a skater and ranks fifth all-time in NHL history for points scored by a Finnish-born player (763). “I’m very excited for the opportunity coming up. ... Growing up in Finland and watching every single tournament that Finland was part of, and now to be a part of it and to be a captain to try and lead the team to victories, is a great opportunity for me.”
It’s also a tune-up for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. Barkov’s time with Finland in the 2014 Games was short-lived. He played in just two games before sustaining a knee injury that knocked him out for the rest of the tournament.
But Barkov, who was 19 at the time, cherishes the opportunity he had and longs to be part of it again.
“It’s the Olympics. Every single athlete wants to be a part of it,” Barkov said. “Whether it’s Winter or Summer, you want to be part of it. You watch it on TV, and then you get a chance to represent your country there. It’s an amazing opportunity. I was unfortunately there for only a couple games, but I remember every single moment there.”
The 4 Nations tournament begins Wednesday and will have seven games total split between Montreal’s Bell Centre and Boston’s TD Garden. There will be a round-robin first round with each team playing each other before the top two teams play a one-game final on Feb. 20 in Boston to determine the winner.
Finland plays the United States on Thursday in Montreal, Sweden on Saturday in Montreal and Canada on Monday in Boston.
“We’re ready to challenge,” Barkov said. “We’re ready to win.”
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