All-Star honors

First-time honor comes amid center’s big season

Panthers’ Barkov named to Atlantic Division team.

The hockey world will finally get to see one of its hidden stars — Aleksander Barkov is an All-Star for the first time in his career.

Florida’s top-line center was named to the Atlantic Division team Wednesday. He is the only Panther who will participate in the All-Star Game in Tampa on Jan. 28. The four division teams (Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central, Pacific) will play in a 3-on-3 roundrobin tournament that begins at 3:30 p.m.

He will also participate in the Skills Competition on Jan. 27.

For Barkov, the All-Star nod will be the latest addition to the 22-year-old’s developing resume. He’s enjoying the best season of his career, with 40 points in 41 games. His 14 goals are third on the Panthers, trailing Vincent Trocheck (17) and Jonathan Huberdeau (16).

Barkov has never eclipsed 59 points in a season, but is on pace to approach 80 this season. He’s scored in the past three games while anchoring Florida’s top line with Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov.

“[Barkov] has earned the right to be counted among the league’s elite at the 2018 NHL All-Star Game,” Panthers General Manager Dale Tallon said in a statement. “A cornerstone of our franchise, he is among the game’s most exceptional two-way players and is incredibly deserving of this honor.”

Barkov is one of the game’s biggest workhorses. No forward in the NHL plays more minutes than Barkov’s 22:30 per game. When he logged 28:55 in a game against

Dallas on Nov. 14, it was the most by a NHL forward in four seasons. This season, he’s averaging three more minutes per game than he did last season.

Barkov is an essential part of Florida’s special teams. He’s on the top power-play unit, racking up two goals and five assists with a man advantage. On the penalty kill, he’s scored a league-high four shorthanded goals, and has been on the ice for only three power-play goals by opponents.

The Finn is a shootout ace, scoring on 15 of 21 attempts during the past three seasons, including 3 of 5 this season. And he’s winning 53.8 percent of his faceoffs.

Because the Panthers made the playoffs only once in Barkov’s first four seasons, he rarely got a national stage to showcase his abilities. But All-Star Weekend in Tampa will change that.

Each team is made up of six forwards, three defensemen and two goalies. Every team must have a representative, meaning spots are scarce in the eight-team division that includes the best team in the league and AllStar host Tampa Bay.

Forwards Jack Eichel (Buffalo), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), Auston Matthews (Toronto), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay), Brad Marchand (Boston), defensemen Mike Green (Detroit), Viktor Hedman (Tampa Bay), Erik Karlsson (Ottawa) and goaltenders Carey Price (Montreal) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (Tampa Bay) also made the team.

With Barkov’s inclusion in the All-Star Game, Trocheck and Huberdeau were shut out. Trocheck made the team last season, when he finished with a careerbest 54 points. This season, he’s on pace for his first 30-goal season and, like Barkov, could creep toward 80 points.

Huberdeau has never been an All-Star and should breeze past his career-best 20 goals from 2015-16.

Here is a list of all Florida’s past All-Stars:

2017 — Vincent Trocheck 2016 — Jaromir Jagr, Aaron Ekblad, Roberto Luongo

2015 — Aaron Ekblad, Roberto Luongo 2012 — Brian Campbell 2009 — Jay Bouwmeester 2008 — Tomas Vokoun 2007 — Jay Bouwmeester 2004 — Roberto Luongo 2003 — Olli Jokinen, Sandis Ozolinsh 2002 — Sandis Ozolinsh 2001 — Pavel Bure 2000 — Pavel Bure, Viktor Kozlov, Ray Whitney

1997 — Robert Svehla, John Vanbiesbrouck

1996 — Scott Mellanby, John Vanbiesbrouck

1994 — Bob Kudelski, John Vanbiesbrouck

Barkov

PAUL SANCYA/AP Aleksander Barkov is enjoying his best season, with 40 points in 41 games. His 14 goals are third on the Panthers, behind Vincent Trocheck (17) and Jonathan Huberdeau (16).