Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice praised San Jose Sharks rookie phenom Macklin Celebrini by comparing him to Aleksander Barkov.

Celebrini has had his share of highlight-reel plays this season as he entered Saturday’s game against Barkov and the Panthers with 35 points in 39 games. Celebrini’s 15 goals before Saturday’s game led all NHL rookies, even as the Sharks have stumbled to last place in the league’s overall standings.

“It means the world to me, to be honest,” Barkov said. “It’s Athlete of the Year in Finland, the country where I was born, where I was raised and grew up watching national teams play and cheering for them. To get that honor, it’s huge for me. I’m really, really happy and really thankful to be able to get that award.”

Aleksander Barkov and Victor Hedman were named captains for Team Finland and Team Sweden, respectively, on Thursday ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

These days, there are only a few people in Finland who are more recognizable than Aleksander Barkov. Hockey is arguably the most-popular sport in Finland, and right now, it would seem that Barkov and the sport have become synonymous in the Suomi.

Barkov will lead fellow Finnish Cats Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola at tournament from Feb. 12-20

SUNRISE, Fla. — Matthew Tkachuk had a goal and two assists, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 30 shots for his second shutout of the season, and the Florida Panthers beat the Kings 3-0 on Wednesday night.

The San Jose Sharks’ dad’s trip ended with a thud in a 6-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, but they had a good time before that in the Emerald City. A tradition started by the Nashville Predators in the late 90’s,

Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov will wear the ‘C’ next month for Finland at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off. Seven months after becoming the first Finnish captain to ever hoist the Stanley Cup — and a few weeks since being the first hockey player ever named Finland’s Sportsman of the Year — the honor came

Aleksander Barkov Jr. and Ryan Donato will be two of the top players to keep an eye on when the Florida Panthers face the Chicago Blackhawks at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday, February 1 at 1:00 PM ET.

Auston Matthews will serve as captain for the United States in the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, and his team is the only one involved without a glaring injury question to answer.