NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
After winning his first Stanley Cup in 2024 Florida Panthers Captain Aleksander Barkov, admittedly, lacked some motivation to get back on the ice.
“It was my biggest dream in this hockey game. So of course I got that feeling,” the choice said else-everywhere in a recent interview with Pakinomist Digital. “When I thought, ‘Ok, it’s time to start training again,’ it was really, really hard. As if it’s just really hard to get up and go somewhere for a race or for a lift or something similar.”
But then he thought of the “big picture” and remembered that lifting the Stanley Cup is “the best feeling in hockey.”
CLICK HERE for more sports cover at Foxnews.com
Florida Panthers Center Aleksander Barkov lifts the Stanley Cup after winning a match six of the 2025 Stanley Cup final against Edmonton Oilers in the American Bank Arena. (SAM NAVARRO-MAILED PICTURES)
Now Panthers has a chance to do something that has not been achieved since the early 1980s – wins three consecutive Stanley Cups, and Barkov is already “thinking about next year.”
“To get this party again, enjoy the season again with the team, go through the ups and downs and write another story and achieve it. So it kind of made me go. And we achieved it again. It wasn’t easy at all. Mentally it was really hard all year, but we did our best, we tried our best, and it was enough this year. But now I have a better feeling of it.
Maybe Hans Celsius partnership fired him in the middle of the season. Energy Drinkens 200 milligrams of caffeine helped Barkov get through the violent days during the hockey year. For him, it is also a partnership that hits close to him – the headquarters are in nearby Boca Raton (Panthers player in sunrise) and he said Celsius will be a hit in his homeland Finland.
“That’s how I try to live like athlete. I’m trying to eat the right way. I try to sleep the right way, recover, practice, work out whatever I do, I’m thinking of becoming a better athlete for the next day, for the next game,” he said. “So I think Celsius fits it really well because they have everything I need in a drink. It also tastes really good, so I don’t have to force it into myself. It keeps me awake when I need it most, all the vitamins that I need all day is there. So it’s just a total package in a drink.”
Florida Panthers Center Aleksander Barkov gets the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, after winning a match six of the 2025 Stanley Cup final. (SAM NAVARRO-MAILED PICTURES)
Bruins who look shocking reunion with the franchise legend after the Stanley Cup -Succes: Report
Any extra motivation? Maybe the fact that he has to come up with new ideas on how to celebrate with the Stanley Cup (he said 48 consecutive hours of partying were his maximum).
“We get to spend a day individually with the cup, so it will be a challenge. I did everything I needed last year. I literally showed it everyone I needed to show. So this year, probably took a little easier and maybe spent more time just me and the cup,” Barkov joked.
Of course, an idea is to “pour a Celsius into it and just sip it.” He also brought it to his neighbor’s houses for the little hours in the morning.
But first, it will be another 82-game season, and then has to win 16 games in the post season to lift the best trophy in sports again.
“For me, I feel better right now to continue working and keeping getting better,” Barkov said. “Because, yes, last year, the first time to win, it feels like, ‘OK, now I’ve done everything I wanted, I dreamed of.’ Now, after doing it another time, it’s the best feeling in hockey.
Florida Panthers Center Aleksander Barkov speaks to the fans during the Stanley Cup Championship Parade and Rally. (SAM NAVARRO-MAILED PICTURES)
“Obviously we just won, so we’re celebrating this one a little, but already thinking about next year how big a chance we have to do even bigger story. And that’s what already drives me forward.”
