European hockey fans take advantage of every opportunity to watch NHL hockey in their own backyards. But the star power for this weekend’s pair of NHL Global Series games in Tampere, Finland, should take the excitement to another level.

Center Aleksander Barkov and defenseman Miro Heiskanen are two of the best players to ever come out of this northern nation of just over five million people, where hockey is practically a religion. And while the Finns have had tremendous success in international hockey by emphasizing a disciplined, team-focused approach to the game, Barkov and Heiskanen are sublime talents in the prime of their careers.

They also play on two of the best teams in the NHL. So this weekend’s matchups between the Florida Panthers and Dallas Stars should be big league games that showcase the best of professional hockey’s top league.

Barkov leads Panthers into NHL Global Series

Barkov, of course, is the captain of the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. When his team defeated the Edmonton Oilers in seven games last June. he became the first Finn to captain a cup winner.

The burly 29-year-old center was born in Tampere and has twice won the Frank J. Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward. In 2018-19, he also won the Lady Byng Trophy as the league’s most gentlemanly player.

After suffering a scary lower-body injury in Florida’s second game of the season, Barkov returned to action in the Panthers’ 5-2 win at Buffalo on Monday. He had a goal and an assist before the team traveled to Europe for this weekend’s games.

Showing no signs of a Stanley Cup hangover even when their captain was injured, the Panthers are 7-3-1 in their first 11 games. They led the Eastern Conference standings entering Wednesday night’s action.

Three other Finnish-born players have also suited up for Florida this season. Center Anton Lundell, 23, is a native of Espoo and goes by the nickname ‘Baby Barkov’, while 26-year-old forward Eetu Luostarinen shares Barkov’s birthday, September 2. On the blue line, 6-foot-6 defenseman Niko Mikkola proved to be a valuable addition when he signed as a free agent before last season.

GM Bill Zito has ties to Finland

Florida general manager Bill Zito was born and raised in the United States, but has their own ties to Finland. He briefly spent time with a third-division team as a player in the late 1980s, then returned in 1995 for five years while founding his sports agency Acme World Sports with Finnish native Markus Lehto.

Zito also got his start in NHL management while serving as assistant general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets under another Finn, Jarmo Kekalainen.

Heiskanen leads NHL Global Series stars

As for Heiskanen, the 25-year-old from Espoo’s big claims to fame are his excellent skating and a motor that allows him to be among the NHL leaders in ice time every season. Now in his seventh year, he has averaged 24:26 throughout his career and is as astute at defending and breaking up plays as he is at scoring points.

In his second season in 2019-20, Heiskanen scored 26 points in 27 games in the playoff bubble as the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Dallas has reached the Western Conference finals in each of the last two years and is considered a serious Cup contender in 2024-25.

The Stars are also off to a good start, going 7-2-0 in their first nine games.

In addition to Heiskanen, Dallas’ lineup also features Esa Lindell, 30, of Vantaa, Finland, a more defensive-minded defenseman. Up front, Roope Hintz, 27, of Nokia, Finland, occupies the front-line center spot, skating between the dazzling Jason Robertson and rookie of the year contender Logan Stankoven.

Finland in the confrontation of 4 nations

Barkov, Heiskanen and Lindell were three of the first six players named to the Finnish national team.Clash of 4 nations‘list in June. The other Finnish-born Global Series participants will likely be named to that team as well.

Then, they will be teammates instead of rivals. The event will take place in February 2025 in Montreal and Boston as a warm-up event for the return of NHL players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

And while final roster decisions will be difficult for the management groups in Canada and the United States, who have a wealth of top-tier talent to choose from, the Finns will likely need to rely on the team structure that serves them so well in the international game. if they hope to be successful.

The ‘4 Nations Faceoff’ will feature only NHL players. Therefore, former NHL forward Jere Lehtinen, who is now the general manager of the Finnish national team, will need to build his 23-man roster from a roster of just 31 players born in Finland who have skated in the NHL this season.

In early October, the New Jersey Devils took a couple of wins of the Buffalo Sabers in the first games of the 2024 NHL Global Series in Prague, Czechia. This weekend’s games will take place on Friday, November 1 (2 pm ET) and Saturday, November 2 (noon ET) at Tampere’s resplendent Nokia Arena, built three years ago. The 13,000-seat venue is home to Finnish SM-Liiga teams Tappera and Ilves. It also hosted the IIHF World Championship in 2022 and 2023.