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Finnish superstar Aleksander Barkov had a dream day on Wednesday, spending time with the Stanley Cup in his hometown after captaining the Florida Panthers to their first championship. The historic win also made Barkov the first Finnish-born NHL captain to hoist the Cup.
At the Nokia Arena, Barkov was honored in front of a crowd of 15,000 fans and also received congratulatory video messages from hockey legends Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
"Alex, congratulations on being the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup, you've done your country proud, the state of Florida, of course your hockey team. Congratulations! Everyone have fun!" Gretzky enthused.
Lemieux also applauded Barkov's breakthrough victory,
"Alex, I would just like to congratulate you on an amazing year, of course a great playoff run and winning the Stanley Cup."
"We all know it's something very, very special and very difficult to win but you guys did it, you played great and I'm sure there are a lot of proud people in Finland with you tonight. Congratulations, enjoy the evening and all the best moving forward."
Beyond the congratulations, Barkov spent the day celebrating with fans, taking the Cup to an amusement park and watching a skateboarder jump over it.
Aleksander Barkov talks about the upcoming season after winning the Stanley Cup
Aleksander Barkov is already setting his sights on the upcoming season first ater winning the team's first Stanley Cup.
"We won the Cup, the greatest prize, but you want to feel the same feelings again. That leaves you hungry," Barkov remarked. "Winning the Cup helps us this coming season, but winning two in a row will no way be easy."
The Panthers captain, though, realizes defending their title will be a tall task.
"It wasn't easy to win this one, and the next win will not be easy," he explained. "Everyone has to give it all, everyone has to play his best game, and of course you need a little bit of luck. That's what it takes to win the Cup."
Entering his 11th NHL season at just 28, Aleksander Barkov will be instrumental to any hopes of a repeat.
