Florida Panthers captain Sasha Barkov has made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
While Barkov may be on his way toward having his name added to those enshrined into the historic hockey shrine in Toronto, the 29-year-old Finn can now find his photo in the hall along with a new friend: The Stanley Cup.
During Barkov’s day with the Cup over the summer, he did something pretty unique.
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Barkov, who had just become the first Finnish-born captain to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, spent his day with the historic trophy in his hometown of Tampere.
It was there Barkov teamed up with Finnish professional skateboarder Marius Syvänen to make a little history.
With Barkov and Keeper of the Cup Phil Pritchard watching closely, Syvänen and his board sailed over the 35.25-inch-tall Stanley Cup.
The amazing photo of the jump, taken by Finnish photographer Keke Leppala, now sits in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
It’s just a little icing on the cake for Barkov.
This week, he’s back in Finland with his Panthers teammates for the NHL Global Series.
Florida will face the Dallas Stars in Tampere on Friday and Saturday, with Barkov living out a dream by playing an NHL game a mile from where he grew up.
“It’s amazing, especially in my hometown,” Barkov said. “All my friends are there and it’s going to be fun to play in front of them.”
Florida holds a 7-3-1 record through their first 11 games, including wins in five straight road games.
Dallas has played nine games so far, winning seven of them. They’re a perfect 5-0-0 on home ice.
Friday’s game at Nokia Arena begins at 1 p.m. ET while the puck drops on Saturday’s matchup at 11 a.m. ET.
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