C Aleksander Barkov - Tampere Tappara, FEL (2013 Draft)

[thomast]

Wow, i'm very impressed with this kid. Dekes like datsyuk and steals pucks like him, smart as hell. Was most complete player at FIN-USA game at Ivan hlinka tournament centered first line as 15 year old and is 2 weeks off from 2014 draft. I'm still amazed. No way a 15 year old(couple weeks off 16) plays as mature as he did. No weaknesses in his games, very good at everything. Could improve his skating tho. Big and strong, will most likely end up as 6'3-6'4 +200 lbs for the draft year, his dad was an TANK and his mother is former russian national team basketball player. Barkov went from 6'0 168lbs to 6'2 190lbs in 1 year. That's alot.

http://eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=50044

Click to read more...

 

[Latex*]

Very impressive indeed. 2013 might end up being one hell of a draft for Finns.

Barkov
Ristolainen
Husso
Ikonen
Tanus
etc.

Pretty pumped. Finland might be a contender in the WJC in few years.

 

[Latex*]

And yeah, like i said in the GDT, Barkov was impressive in todays game to say the least.

 

[thomast]

Very impressive indeed. 2013 might end up being one hell of a draft for Finns.

Barkov
Ristolainen
Husso
Ikonen
Tanus
etc.

Pretty pumped. Finland might be a contender in the WJC in few years.

There is fowards, defenders, goalies. 2013 draft looks sick for finland. 2013 draftees basically won USA today, but props to Teräväinen aswell he looked good, better than Tornianen. Still amazed by Barkov's effort, when he was on the ice he took control of all zones. Blocked shots, his PKing is excellent, PP is amazing aswell. Very versatile player for his age, and mature. Who will end up bigger Ristolainen or Barkov? i would bet my money on Barkov

 

[R S]

Sounds like quite the player. Why the Russian name?

 

[thomast]

Sounds like quite the player. Why the Russian name?

His dad is former national hockey team player for russia who played most of his career in finland at FEL and had sasha jr. while playing in finland. Sasha jr. has lived his whole life in finland. His dad is head coach of big KHL club at the moment metallurg if you know it.

 

[jfb392]

Sounds like quite the player. Why the Russian name?

His father is Russian.

 

[thomast]

Our prospect guru Tormentor's view on Barkov, we all know how pessimistic he is about finnish prospects but it's all good.

Datsyuk is a unique player, but Barkov definitely reads the game really well and a clear majority of his decisions are correct. It's almost Granlund like perfection in a NHL frame, and he's still a few weeks away from his 16th birthday. Add another gear to his skating/acceleration/agility and the combination of size, hockey sense, good hands and a heavy shot should take him far in hockey.

I think Granlund also played a complete game for a 16 year old, so IMO there's not much difference in maturity. They are different players and just have to play a bit differently to succeed. Barkov usually has size advantage in puck battles and can cover a large area with his reach, whereas Granlund had to rely slightly more on his motor and run around to get things done.

Maybe in some ways it's like comparing Koivu brothers to each other. It might take longer for Barkov to reach his full offensive potential, but once he does (if he does), he could be one of the top centre forwards in the game similarly to Mikko Koivu.

EDIT: And yes, Barkov has some similar traits/habits with Datsyuk, I agree.

 

[Joe Hallenback]

Nice to see the finns getting some top end talent come down the line

 

[Latex*]

There is fowards, defenders, goalies. 2013 draft looks sick for finland. 2013 draftees basically won USA today, but props to Teräväinen aswell he looked good, better than Tornianen. Still amazed by Barkov's effort, when he was on the ice he took control of all zones. Blocked shots, his PKing is excellent, PP is amazing aswell. Very versatile player for his age, and mature. Who will end up bigger Ristolainen or Barkov? i would bet my money on Barkov

Barkov will end up taller easily. He seemed to have his growth spurt very late. That means he got to grow more before it, and after it he'll end up taller. That's why guys who have their growth spurt late useally end up taller. Like i did.

OT: Why did Torniainen come to HIFK? He has basically zero chance of cracking the roster. Why not go to SAIPA or some weak team like that.

 

[bebl]

props to Teräväinen aswell he looked good, better than Torniainen.

Did he even play?

 

[YARR123]

Kinda OT but does Teräväinen look like he could play in SM-liiga this season?

 

[thomast]

Kinda OT but does Teräväinen look like he could play in SM-liiga this season?

Not, sure but he didn't look very strong tho. Good offensive instincts, i think he will be drafted and plays in the minors for this season. I think that Ikonen was more dynamic, more talented and ikonen could play nice 2 way game aswell, hes so damn tiny tho. Jokerit is stacked so i don't believe he plays FEL. Big MAYBE in low tier team. I don't think Ikonen is ready aswell because his physical attributes isn't enough. But if he was bigger then maybe yes but theyre 1 year younger, Ikonen would be best offensive player in Blues team with these skills, i think that Ikonen fits perfectly on Marjamäki's mould and he gonna play at FEL next season(ment 2012-2013 lol). I noticed that Teräväinen is nearly an 2013 draftee aswell. Barkov is most mature one and physically definetly ready for FEL. It's better him to stay at fast paced Junior game and produce nice numbers offensively. If he manages to put about PPG at Jr. A it would be nice, i don't expect Granlund-like numbers. But there is chance that he could put up nearly as good numbers as Granlund did at 16.

 

[Helsingin Jokerit]

text

I pretty much agree with you, Teräväinen could maybe handle a 3rd line role in Jokerit, but we are just too stacked right now, we dont even have room for Phoenix 2nd round pick Alexander Ruuttu in our roster. Teräväinen will dominate the A-juniors and will gain some strenght.

Barkov and Ikonen will also play in the A-juniors, I can see Barkov getting to play few games in FEL, but Ikonen is definately too small, even though he would be best offensive player in Blues.

Also OT, but I have been talking to few guys (all defenders) who play against Barkov and Ikonen and all of them say that Ikonen is the more skilled player, but Barkov is still harder to stop because of his physical abilities and because he has a winner mentality, he just refuses to lose.

 

[thomast]

I pretty much agree with you, Teräväinen could maybe handle a 3rd line role in Jokerit, but we are just too stacked right now, we dont even have room for Phoenix 2nd round pick Alexander Ruuttu in our roster. Teräväinen will dominate the A-juniors and will gain some strenght.

Barkov and Ikonen will also play in the A-juniors, I can see Barkov getting to play few games in FEL, but Ikonen is definately too small, even though he would be best offensive player in Blues.

Also OT, but I have been talking to few guys (all defenders) who play against Barkov and Ikonen and all of them say that Ikonen is the more skilled player, but Barkov is still harder to stop because of his physical abilities and because he has a winner mentality, he just refuses to lose.

Yeah i ment 2012-2013 season for Ikonen not this season, no way he plays FEL. It would hurt Barkovs developement if he would play FEL full time. That GWG in USA game was pure gold, it looks like he has Very heavy shot, similar to Vatanen and Pulkkinen but Pulkkinen's shot is still the best i've seen since selänne. Release should be quicker tho, but Barkov has killer wrister aswell, hes pretty much complete package expect for skating which isn't bad but would make him definetly better and harder to play against if he had quicker feets, but yeah he is still 15, plenty of time to get quicker. Alex Barkov Sr. has another son who is about 7, anyone knows if he plays hockey? If he does i hope he's named a Roman. Barkov borthers in hockey, eremenko brothers in soccer :p

 

[thomast]

2 Games at Ivan Hlinka Tournaments and he has 3goals+4assist=7points as an underager.

 

[BobDobolina]

2 Games at Ivan Hlinka Tournaments and he has 3goals+4assist=7points as an underager.

I personally care only about how well a player can produce against the top countries (CAN/USA/SWE/RUS) Stockpiling points against weaker competition is cute but doesn't really show a whole lot.

 

[thomast]

I personally care only about how well a player can produce against the top countries (CAN/USA/SWE/RUS) Stockpiling points against weaker competition is cute but doesn't really show a whole lot.

1+1 against USA being most dominant player.

 

[Latex*]

1+1 against USA being most dominant player.

Yeah, best player on the ice in that game.

+

Barkov is only 15 years old, stockpiling points against Slovakia in Ivan Hlinka (only lost 3-0 to Canada BTW) is pretty impressive.

Why all the hate for Finns from you lately?

 

[BobDobolina]

Yeah, best player on the ice in that game.

+

Barkov is only 15 years old, stockpiling points against Slovakia in Ivan Hlinka (only lost 3-0 to Canada BTW) is pretty impressive.

Suit yourself.

Why all the hate for Finns from you lately?

Please elaborate in great detail. This applies to all players, not just ones of particular nationality.

 

[Latex*]

Please elaborate in great detail. This applies to all players, not just ones of particular nationality.

Bashing Finns in every thread you can find about them.

 

[edd1e]

I personally care only about how well a player can produce against the top countries (CAN/USA/SWE/RUS) Stockpiling points against weaker competition is cute but doesn't really show a whole lot.

Do a little research. Barkov was the best player on ice against USA.

 

[BobDobolina]

Bashing Finns in every thread you can find about them.

Please show me examples of this "bashing" It's all in your head, kid.

Do a little research. Barkov was the best player on ice against USA.

And did I say he wasn't? Did I say anything about his performance against the US? All I said that personally I don't rate racking up points against weak competition or in a blowout game (which the game against Slovakia was, that team was brutal) very high my book. You guys sure seem sensitive.

 

[vippe]

Seems like an interesting prospect

 

[thomast]

Please show me examples of this "bashing" It's all in your head, kid.



And did I say he wasn't? Did I say anything about his performance against the US? All I said that personally I don't rate racking up points against weak competition or in a blowout game (which the game against Slovakia was, that team was brutal) very high my book. You guys sure seem sensitive.

Dunno about them, but i agree with you racking up points in blowout games means nothing was More impressed by his excellent Pk, and When he had the puck i didn'T see much turnovers if Any. Extremely smart player. These things makes me so high about him. Haven't seen player with that maturity in a While. Love his attitude aswell, blocks shots when the game is like 6-1, talks alot with his linemates before the faceoffs, true leader aswell. He had Better game against USA imo. The talk about bashing is nonsence, most of the ppl rank Granlund AS top 3-10 prospect. Armia? I don't like him either. I like only prospects with 2way ability and smart game or guys who hustle alot. He needs More agility and Speed in his first strides. But he went from a 5'10 to a 6'2 in 2 years so he isn't Very familiar with his body.