“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 has been selected as the 2024 Sports Personality of the Year, becoming the first ice hockey player to do so. In June last year, Barkov made history as the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup after his Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a winner-take-all game seven.

Barkov became the first hockey player to be named Finland’s Sportsman of the Year. The award is voted on annually by the Finnish Sports Journalists’ Association a

Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov became the first hockey player to ever win Finland's Sportsman of the Year in a vote by the Finnish Association of Sports Journalists. Barkov, the first Finnish captain to win the Stanley Cup,