UPDATE: Reports out of Finland suggest Barkov could miss 4-6 weeks of NHL action with the injury.
Finland has suffered yet another big loss to their Olympic Team, and it again comes at centre as Florida Panthers rookie sensation Aleksander “Sasha” Barkov has been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a knee injury. The injury was suffered in Finland’s 6-1 victory over Norway on Friday.
It is unclear if this is related to the minor knee injury that Barkov suffered playing for the Panthers in late January and caused him to miss four games before the Olympic break.
Barkov had one assist, four shots on goal, and two penalty minutes in two games for the Finns before he was injured. Finland is 2-0 with wins over Norway and Austria. They face Canada with top spot in Group C on the line Sunday.
Olli Jokinen of the Winnipeg Jets and Mikael Granlund of the Minnesota Wild are now the only two NHL level natural centres that Finland has on the roster. The roster also includes Tuomo Ruutu who has played centre in the past in the NHL but is currently playing more on the wing for the Carolina Hurricanes.
Prior to the tournament the Finns got word that they would be without their top two centres, Mikko Koivu and Valterri Filppula due to injuries. They are also without Saku Koivu and Sean Bergenheim who both decided to sit out the Olympics to rest up for the stretch run of the NHL season.
The 18-year-old Barkov has eight goals and 24 points in 54 games for the Panthers this season. He was the Panthers first pick, 2nd overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Earlier this year he became the youngest player to a score a goal in the NHL since the 1967 post-expansion era began.
Barkov is the son of former Russian National team member Alexander Barkov. However his father played professional hockey in Finland, and the younger Barkov was born in Finland and spent most of his life there. Due to his dual citizenship, Aleksander could have played for Russia, but choose to represent Finland at the IIHF Under 18 level, and once that decision is made he would remain a Finnish national for IIHF purposes going forward.
Thank you for reading. Please take a moment to follow me on Twitter – @lastwordBkerr. Support LWOS by following us on Twitter –@LastWordOnSport – and “liking” our Facebook page.
Interested in writing for LWOS? We are looking for enthusiastic, talented writers to join our Baseball writing team. Visit our “Write for Us” page for very easy details in how you can get started today!
