12. Aleksander Barkov
From the packed 2013 NHL Draft, Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers is another young player featured on this list. His penalty killing and power play is key to his being here. In 2015-16, Barkov spent on average 1:47 on the ice during shorthanded moments. That was the 50th most among centers. In 2016-17, this shrunk to 1:16 per game, but still put him in the top 75 among centers. Barkov ranked 23rd in power play time, averaging 2:54 per game.
Averaging 19:24 of ice time per game, he ranked 16th in the NHL in overall ice time per game among centers. At 48 seconds, Barkov also had a very high average shift length. And with that time on ice, he did a lot of good things. Barkov’s 0.85 points per game put him just outside the top 10 among centers who played at least 40 games.
He’s quickly turning into an all-around excellent center. The Panthers rely on him a lot and they suffered without Barkov in the lineup last season. If he stays healthy this season, Florida should be in the playoff hunt. The Panthers have several needs to address, but they don’t need to worry about getting a franchise center because they already have one. And his name is Barkov.