SUNRISE, Fla. – The National Hockey League announced today that Florida Panthers forwards Aleksander Barkov (Team Finland) and Jussi Jokinen (Team Finland) as well as defensemen Aaron Ekblad (Team North America) and Dmitry Kulikov (Team Russia) have been named to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey opening Sept. 17, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario. Florida Panthers Head Coach Gerard Gallant will serve as an assistant coach for Team North America.
The 20-year old Barkov won a Bronze Medal with Team Finland at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games and has represented Finland once at the IIHF World Championship (2015) and twice at the IIHF World Junior Championship (2012, 2013).