In his fifth season, Barkov grows into dominant role
SUNRISE — Aleksander Barkov is unassuming. He’s quiet. He’s humble. He doesn’t read much about hockey during the season, only choosing to check the scoreboard and the standings. His aspirations center on winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. And at the All-Star break, he’s deaf to any talk involving him and the Selke Trophy.
But perhaps soon, he won’t be able to avoid the conversation for the award that celebrates the best defensive forward in hockey.
“If you win any of those, you help your team as well,” Barkov said. “If you’re one of the best in your position or in your style. Selke is the type of player I am. I like to play in defensive zone. I like to play
in offensive zone. The team’s first. We want to win the Stanley Cup with the team.”
In his fifth season, Barkov has blossomed into the player the Panthers thought he could be when they selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2013 draft. He’s become nearly a pointper-game player with 43 points in 46 games, by far his best offensive season. He’s shouldered the load for the Panthers’ forwards corps, averaging the most ice time by a forward in the NHL (22:22). He’s an AllStar for the first time.
But he stars on the defensive side of the ice, where his 6-foot-3 frame and smooth hands have made him a premier forward at just 22 years old.
“There’s a lot of guys in this league that can play with the puck, but how many can play without the puck?” Panthers associate coach Jack Capuano said. “He’s always got himself in great position defensively. He’s probably got one of the best sticks, it’s a little thing but it’s a major thing. He’s got a great stick. He’s got a lot of takeaways. He can strip guys away from pucks.”
Barkov will likely not win the Selke until Boston’s Patrice Bergeron exits the league or his play declines, with the four-time winner again having a remarkable season for the surging Bruins. This season, Barkov may not even be named a finalist for the award. He finished fourth in the PHWA’s midseason voting for the Selke, appearing on 49 of 152 ballots.
But Barkov’s career has been defined by potential leading into this season: what he could do if he stayed healthy for an entire season, what he could do once he was more experienced. This season, that potential has been replaced by production.
“He’s the total package,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s big, he’s strong, he’s got an extremely high hockey IQ. His skill level is off the charts for the strength that he has. He’s a game changer.”
His scoring and shootout moves grab the highlights and headlines, but his defensive stats jump off the page for a possible Selke candidate. Consider:
He has a career-high 54.3 faceoff percentage this season, the first time he’s been over 50 percent in the circle. Partly helped by a stricter enforcement of faceoff violations, Barkov’s quick hands have allowed him to dominate at times in the circle.
In the defensive zone, he’s winning 57.5 percent of his faceoffs, winning key possessions more often in his own end.
He is one of five players this season to win more than 20 faceoffs in a single game, and he’s done it twice. Barkov won 22 at Columbus on Jan. 7 and 21 against the Rangers on Nov. 28.
Barkov leads the league with five shorthanded goals, and has helped the Panthers lead the league with nine total shorthanded tallies.
Despite playing nearly two minutes per game on the penalty kill (1:57), Barkov spent most of the season as a plus player while shorthanded. Until the last two games (when he was on the ice for two power-play goals against), Barkov was on the ice for five goals for and just three against on the penalty kill.
Advanced stats favor Barkov as well. He starts 56.8 percent of his shifts in the defensive zone, and still posts positive possession numbers, both in terms of raw data (53.0 percent Corsi For percentage) and in terms of relative to his team (5.3 percent relative Corsi For).
“He’s got a great stick in the D-zone and the Ozone,” Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck said. “He’s always in the right position at the right time. He’s great giving support for the D. He’s a smart kid, he knows where to be at the right time.”
Panthers coaches and teammates have long lauded Barkov for his work ethic and preparation. He typically never misses an optional skate, even when the majority of the team skips it. He takes pride in his overall game, even if he doesn’t enjoy playing in his own end.
“Of course I don’t have fun in the defensive zone,” Barkov said. “I’ve always been a two-way player. I want to play good defense, I don’t want them to score on me. Last game, it happened a couple times. It was a bad game for me. Otherwise, I try to keep the puck away from our zone and try to play in offensive zone.”
Capuano added: “When you’re in the defensive zone, there’s a few guys that don’t understand the concept of hard work. I think he realizes that not every shift is going to be an offensive shift. He realizes that. He’s going to get his offensive zone time during the course of a hockey game, but he takes a lot of pride in his defense and being one of those top centers that can be a two-way guy.”
But despite his defensive season thus far, the mountain remains tall for Barkov to truly challenge for the Selke. Bergeron is 32 years old and on one of the best teams in the league. Philadelphia’s Sean Couturier has added scoring to his already sound defensive game. Plus, Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar and Calgary’s Mikael Backlund still loom as contenders.
It doesn’t help that Barkov has made the playoffs only once in Florida as the Panthers are on track to miss the postseason for the second straight season after winning an Atlantic Division championship in 2015-16. The Panthers as a team have also given up 3.30 goals per game, fifth most in the NHL.
“It’s tough with the amount of goals we’ve given up as a team this year for him to be put in that conversation,” Trocheck said. “But I think overall, in his career, he’ll win at least one.”