Where was Aleksander Barkov born? Finding out the birthplace of Florida Panthers captain

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was born to Alexander Barkov Sr. and Olga Barkov in Tampere, Finland, on September 2, 1995. The Barkovs were both formerly employed as professional athletes.

The 27-year-old hockey star’s mother was a Russian national basketball team member, while his father represented Russia in hockey competitions in Italy, Finland, and Russia.

The family moved to Tampere after Barkov Sr. finished his final season with Tappara and retired from professional hockey. Aleksander Barkov grew up alongside his older brother Juri and both children were fluent in languages like Finnish and Russian.

His older brother wanted to be a professional tennis player, but his career was cut short by an injury while Aleksander and his father played hockey.

Aleksander Barkov started his hockey career as a minor leaguer with Tappara. With his prolific skill set and grip over the puck during his junior career, Barkov managed to get selected by the Florida Panthers. He was taken in the 1st round of the 2013 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft with the 2nd overall pick.

Aleksander Barkov’s professional career and achievement

Aleksander Barkov

To be ready for the 2013–14 NHL season, Barkov signed an entry-level contract with the Florida Panthers on July 15, 2013, after which he participated in training camp.

He made his NHL debut against the Dallas Stars, and he also became, in the same match, the league's youngest goal scorer since its 1967 expansion, on October 3, 2013. Barkov, the league's youngest player, kept acing, scoring 5 points in his first seven games while seeing more playing time.

Along with Nick Bjugstad, another rookie, he emerged as an important centre for the Panthers' first and second lines. Both teammates and commentators praised Barkov for his poised performance on and off the rink.

The Panthers captain played on the team’s top line with Sean Bergenheim and Brad Boyes in December, scoring 9 points in 10 games. Despite suffering a lower-body injury in January, Barkov had 24 points, which put him just one point behind the team leader.

Aleksander Barkov was a member of Team Finland at the Olympics, but during the competition, he sustained another injury that cut his NHL season short to just 54 games. During that time, he scored 8 goals and had 16 assists for 24 points.