Making history old hat for advanced Barkov

Iain Morrell — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 19:02:10 +0000

Aleksander Barkov has always been 'ahead of the curve'.

As a 16-year-old, he became the youngest scorer ever in the Finnish SM-liiga - as well as the youngest Finnish player to score a goal at the Under-20 World Juniors.

Fast-forward eleven months and Barkov is on the verge of breaking yet another barrier.

Leading Tappara with 14 goals and sitting among the league top-ten scorers with 28 points, he is set to knock Jari Torkki (34-13-17-30) from the record books as the youngest ever to crack the 30-point mark.

Now 17 years and three months old, the native of Tampere could also take a run at the 40-point standard set in `96-7 by Olli Jokinen (50-14-27-41), who had turned 18 by the end of that season.

RUSSIAN FATHER KNOWS BEST

Barkov's advanced state can be traced to an early headstart and being raised in a hockey-rich environment. His father Alexander was born in Novosibirsk, Russia and enjoyed a lengthy professional career that began in the old Soviet Union and concluded with 10 seasons in Tappara of the SM-liiga.

The younger Barkov displays a maturity and poise on the ice more typically associated with a wily veteran. Powered by uncanny hockey sense, he possesses a rare ability to control the game whenever the puck is on his stick. Effortless in the way he handles and settles down difficult passes, and a by-product of an elite mix of strength and hand skills. All his playmaking is with purpose and precision, often feeding pucks right where a teammate needs it to arrive.

The knock on Barkov has always been 'heavy' skating as his mechanics are a tad slushy, and his first step limited by a shorter stride. Quickness and stride power have steadily improved though, and his skating is approaching the 'adequate' level, which is more than enough to allow him to deploy his many other attributes.

His anticipation and 'feel' for the game are sublime. Thinking three and four moves ahead, one can see the wheels turning as he deciphers situations - and finds a solution. Barkov is exceptionally cunning as well - and also empowered with an intuitive sense for how opponents are likely to react.

He can not only open up a defense with an astute read - but is also a legitimate scoring threat thanks to a heavy accurate wristshot. Already six-foot-two and 210 pounds, he uses his big frame intelligently and casts a particularly imposing presence around the opposing goal.

His finishing skills are clinical - and showcase his impressive composure and common sense in scoring areas.

TWIN FINNS

It's almost a certainty Barkov will be among the first five selections at the 2013 NHL Draft.

That would make him the first Finnish-born player in a decade to go in the top five - since 2002 when Kari Lehtonen and Joni Pitkanen were selected second and fourth overall respectively.

Incidentally, Mikael Granlund has been the only Finn taken in the top 10 of the draft since Lehtonen and Pitkanen.

A resurging Finland could very well repeat next summer with another pair of top-ten picks as defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen is highly-regarded for his size, power and leadership.

Another big and mature specimen, Ristolainen is quite advanced in terms of his physical play - and knows how to initiate his strongly-built frame. He leans on opponents and makes life miserable in the defensive zone.

The Turku native just turned 18 in October and is already in his second professional season and logging 20 minutes per game on average for TPS.

That's called 'ahead of the curve' too.

McKeen’s Top 30 – November, 2012

McKeen's staff — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 20:51:41 +0000

Sweden stole the draft headlines in 2011, and this past summer it was defensemen taking the spotlight - with eight of the top 10 picks.

Next June, it could very well be the QMJHL grabbing all the attention.

The 'Q' is back - and in a big way.

Led by the Halifax trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, and top-rated goalie Zach Fucale - seven players from the revitalized QMJHL earned spots in the McKeen's preliminary rankings for the 2013 NHL Draft.

Four other forwards have also stepped up to claim top-round berths - Val d'Or sniper Anthony Mantha, big Rimouski pivot Frederik Gauthier, gritty shooter Adam Erne, and strong-skating William Carrier.

It would mark quite a turnaround for a league that produced just one lone first-rounder last time - Russian import Mikhail Grigorenko.

The 'Q' factor is one of the storylines emerging so far in a draft year that is showing signs of being above-average in quality - and possibly special.

Certainly this draft class are shooting the lights out across junior - and beyond - with three of our top 10 flourishing in European pro leagues in Elias Lindholm, Aleksander Barkov, and Rasmus Ristolainen.

Maintaining or climbing the rankings won't be an easy task however since the depth of talent for 2013 exceeds what we've witnessed over the past few drafts.

Normally, in an average crop year, there are about 15-20 players that initially stand out as distinct first-round candidates.

There won't be any passengers this time around - with at least 40 'A' grade prospects waging battle for a coveted top-30 placing.

We can expect movement among the top tier as well heading into a busy month of November - a key time for NHL scouts to assess how players respond as the level of play elevates.

It's shaping up to be quite a race - in spite of the dampening effect of this tortuous NHL labour dispute.

Really, all we can do is drown ourselves in the World Juniors - and the draft - and hope the powers that be come to their senses - soon.

MCKEEN'S 2013 NHL DRAFT RANKINGS (NOV, 2012)

RANK	PLAYER	POS	HT/WT	BORN	TM (LG)	GP-G-A-PTS
1	Nathan MacKinnon	C	6-0/180	9/1/95	Halifax (QMJHL)	16-18-11-29
2	Seth Jones	D	6-3/205	10/3/94	Portland (WHL)	13-4-6-10
3	Elias Lindholm	C	6-0/185	12/2/94	Brynas (Swe)	19-5-8-13
4	Aleksander Barkov	C	6-2/205	9/2/95	Tappara (Fin)	19-10-9-19
5	Sean Monahan	C	6-2/195	10/12/94	Ottawa (OHL)	14-6-16-22
6	Rasmus Ristolainen	D	6-3/205	10/27/94	TPS Turku (Fin)	17-0-5-5
7	Hunter Shinkaruk	LW	5-10/165	10/13/94	Medicine Hat (WHL)	18-11-14-25
8	Ryan Pulock	D	6-0/210	10/6/94	Brandon (WHL)	16-7-11-18
9	Jonathan Drouin	LW	5-11/185	3/28/95	Halifax (QMJHL)	10-10-13-23
10	Valeri Nichushkin	RW	6-4/195	3/4/95	Chelmet (Rus 2)	15-8-2-10
11	Curtis Lazar	C	6-0/195	2/2/95	Edmonton (WHL)	15-8-3-11
12	Josh Morrissey	D	6-0/185	3/28/95	Prince Albert (WHL)	16-3-11-14
13	Nikita Zadorov	D	6-5/230	4/15/95	London (OHL)	14-0-4-4
14	Robert Hagg	D	6-2/195	2/8/95	MODO (Swe J20)	17-5-9-14
15	Anthony Mantha	RW	6-3/200	9/16/94	Val d'Or (QMJHL)	15-15-13-28
16	Jason Dickinson	C	6-1/180	7/4/95	Guelph (OHL)	15-8-9-17
17	Frederik Gauthier	C	6-4/215	4/26/95	Rimouski (QMJHL)	17-10-10-20
18	Andre Burakovsky	LW	6-1/180	2/9/95	Malmo (Swe 2)	16-0-2-2
19	Zachary Fucale	G	6-1/180	5/28/95	Halifax (QMJHL)	12-1-0, 2.53
20	Max Domi	C	5-9/195	3/2/95	London (OHL)	15-7-13-20
21	Adam Erne	LW	6-1/195	4/20/95	Quebec (QMJHL)	15-11-13-24
22	J.T. Compher	C	5-11/180	4/8/95	NTDP (USA)	6-2-1-3
23	Darnell Nurse	D	6-3/190	2/4/95	Sault Ste Marie (OHL)	16-4-9-13
24	Kerby Rychel	LW	6-1/200	10/7/94	Windsor (OHL)	17-10-5-15
25	Hudson Fasching	C	6-3/195	7/28/95	NTDP (USA)	13-3-5-8
26	Jacob de la Rose	LW	6-2/190	5/20/95	Leksands (Swe 2)	16-1-0-1
27	William Carrier	LW	6-1/200	12/20/94	Cape Breton (QMJHL)	17-10-16-26
28	Shea Theodore	D	6-2/185	8/3/95	Seattle (WHL)	14-4-7-11
29	Bo Horvat	C	6-0/200	4/5/95	London (OHL)	15-6-5-11
30	Eric Comrie	G	6-0/175	7/6/95	Tri-City (WHL)	9-6-2, 2.46
	* Goalies (W-L-T, GA)

Rasmus Ristolainen. Nathan MacKinnon – McKeen's Hockey

Making history old hat for advanced Barkov

McKeen’s Top 30 – November, 2012