Representing Finland as the team captain at the 4 Nations Face-Off will be Florida Panthers forward and captain Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov. The Panthers captain was the overwhelming favorite to be given the honor, and now the decision has been made official according to NHL insider Chris Johnston. He shared the news via his X account.

Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been selected as the U.S. captain for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

Among the throngs of South Floridians swept up in the Florida Panthers’ Stanley Cup Championship run last season was a little cluster of fans who cheered on the team from their rooms at Joe

“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.”

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov was named captain of Finland's 4 Nations Face-Off team on Thursday.

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov has made history as the first ice hockey player to be named Finland’s Athlete of the Year. The honour was announced at the Finnish Sports Gala in Helsinki on Thursday,

Star centre Aleksander Barkov was the first captain named ahead of the 4 Nations Face-off Thursday. The Florida Panthers' star draws the 'C' with Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola serving as alternates.

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.

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.

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

The Panthers have eight players total slated to participate in the tournament: Four for Finland (Barkov, Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola), two for Canada (Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett), one for the United States (Matthew Tkachuk) and one for Sweden (Gustav Forsling).