C Aleksander Barkov - Tampere Tappara, FEL (2013 Draft) - Part II
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I agree with this fully. He has been a disappointment compared to his level of play in October, but towards the end of the year he has looked exhausted in FEL and U20 tournament is just part of continuum. Young players never can keep up their pace throughout long season even when getting ordinary amount of responsibility considering their age and average ice time Barkov has clocked has been never heard of for a 17 year old in FEL.
Henkka
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I don't think his performance in one tournament is going to change all that much. He's one of the most followed European prospects this year so scouts have seen plenty of his play. 2+3=5 in 5 games and 0+3 in 3 games against "proper" hockey countries isn't that bad from a 17 years old, even if he couldn't dominate. He was ok and showed some great 2-way game... He's much more mature player than most of the older players in this tournament.
True, helps Barkov that Finland was so bad as a team. I don't understand all the criticism he gets, i think he was one of our best players along with Ristolainen, Pokka, Teräväinen & Granlund.
Jussi
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tmlms13
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he better get used to it though, in 3 or 4 years people will be excepting the same for 100 games in a season
Yeah sure and I'm sure he'll be ready for that in just few years. Young players have usually consistency problems in both short and long run, for both mental and physical reasons. They don't have enough routine to stay focused 100 % of the time and repeat right decisions, or fitness to survive whole season. Actually Barkov has been exceptionally consistent inside one game in FEL and I'd say he has all the mental qualities needed to be world class player in this respect. This recent slump is probably mostly about his undeveloped fitness.
The Winter Soldier
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How do the Finnish fans feel about a comparison of Barkov to Olli Jokinen? If he became Jokinen 2.0 would anyone be disappointed?
Offensively Olli Jokinen at prime was pretty good player in weak florida team but even Jarmo Kekäläinen himself stated that Olli Jokinen as 1 year older wasn't near as good as Barkov especially in overall game where Jokinen was pretty useless. Olli Jokinen was early born and Barkov is very late born. There is almost calendar year difference in their draft years.
I would be disappointed if Barkov would have similar career as Olli Jokinen. But if Barkov can be similar offensive force as Olli Jokinen at prime for many years and play selke calibre of defense then i would be very pleased.
The Winter Soldier
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Thanks, Reason I asked is I wanted a comparable player to Barkov playing in SM Liiga in his draft year, Jokinen is the closest I could find he had 41 points in 50 games and was a high pick by Florida that summer. Both have similar stats PPG wise. Obviously haven't watched many Tappara games and it wasn't until this tourney until I saw Barkov play. Need some impartial Finnish fans to comment on his play.
Olli Jokinen and Barkov are completely different players! Jokinen was a one-dimensiona,l offensive shoot-1 center. He did not have any defensive duties.
Barkov is a 2-way center. Very good in small space with his hands and size. He is playing PP, PK and u can put him on ice in any situation basically! He has very good work-ethic( something Jokinen couldnt dream about...) and an exceptional vision! He is more of a passer than shooter, but also possesses a good shot. He does a lot of dirty work in the corners, infront of goal(scores rebounds) and is really good at takeaways!
The Winter Soldier
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I won't dispute the FEL, you guys see him play, I know I was somewhat left wanting from his play at the Worlds, he needs to improve his skating for one, and his play looked lethargic at times. He does display good vision but again it was over limited viewing so I will take the Finnish fans words for it. Jokinen is a rougher player, this I can safely surmise is one advantage he has over Barkov. Is this a fair analysis? In the NHL this is an asset.
I believe that Mikko Koivu is closest to Barkov in overall game, as competitive and as hard working for same age. I believe that Barkov is still better in defensive game than Mikko Koivu was in the same age. Koivu posted 1 point in 21 games is FEL in his draft year. Barkov is quite special prospect for finnish standards. He is already leader of his team, playing in every situation, putting great effort offensively. Most important player in that team. Already the smartest player of FEL as 17 year old and has clearly highest hockeyIQ even if we counted the NHL players that played FEL this year.
I doubt that there is any other prospect ever that has played as high role in european top league in the draft year. Barkov is doing history already and NHL scouts will notice it.
The Winter Soldier
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After reading this thread i cant wait for this guy to tear up the NHL next year. Prjections? Calder and PPG.
Well, the WJC left us all disappointed. I blame his team. He was used too much by his SM-liiga coach and seemed tired. The week before WJC he was also playing European trophy- games upon his SM-liiga games, while the other juniors got rested by their teams...
He is still growing. Playing 20min/g as a 17yr old, in a mens league is a lot. When he also play 1st PK and PP unit its no wonder he has seemed a bit tired the last month. He is IMO the best prospect Finland has had in over a decade. Better than Mikael Granlund, because his size and game is probably better suited for NHL than MiG:s.
I assume this is a joke, right?
The flashy wingers tend to put up more points in Rookie-yrs. I`d expect Barkov to put up 40-50p, playing 13-15min/g, 2nd-3rd line duties. This assuming he gets 2nd pp-time. He will also probably play 2nd PK-unit. In a few years, when he has put up more muscle and speed, I expect him to be a Selke-caliber playmaking center with 70-90p.
Would he still be 17 when the season starts? If so, it would be even more mad to expect point per game production out of a two-way forward. My guess is if he goes to NHL next season or the season after he'll be around 0.5PPG, if he waits till he is over twenty (and the team that drafted him), then there is a slight possibility we might see point per game production out of him in his rookie season.
bottomofthefoodchain
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He is born in September so he will be 18 when the 2013-2014 season starts.
bottomofthefoodchain
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Lay Z Boy GM
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Jevo
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No. Jordan Staal turned 18 on September 10th, almost a whole month before the regular season started.
I assume this is a joke, right?
The flashy wingers tend to put up more points in Rookie-yrs. I`d expect Barkov to put up 40-50p, playing 13-15min/g, 2nd-3rd line duties. This assuming he gets 2nd pp-time. He will also probably play 2nd PK-unit. In a few years, when he has put up more muscle and speed, I expect him to be a Selke-caliber playmaking center with 70-90p.
Pretty good projection. i think that Barkov could hit 60 if he is given good linemates and PP time. Barkovs game translates perfectly to the NHL tho. Simple and very effective, scores alot of NHL-like goals from rebounds and can snipe it. Let's remember that Barkov is playmaker who is very good goalscorer. I could see Barkov scoring 20-30 goals in his rookie year and having 20-35 assists just because that he's game is NHL-like and he's getting NHL-level linemates. But Barkov is going to play alot of PK and shutting down top players. I could see Barkov having similar developement in NHL like in FEL. Barkov had to adjust playing against men an had 0.5PPG as an 16 year old after 1 year experience his production has almost doubled. Could see Barkov scoring 40+pts in his rookie year in NHL and after that 60-80.
