Taken by the Panthers with the 12th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, Lundell's path to his first NHL contract has mirrored Barkov's in many ways. Both players entered Liiga (the top league in Finland) at a young age, both were first-round picks, and both are known for their two-way play.
Heading into the 2021-22 season, Lundell now hopes to continue following in Barkov's footsteps by making the jump directly to the NHL and carving out a regular roster spot with the Panthers.
"There's a lot of good players and my goal is to take a spot on the roster," Lundell said during a Zoom teleconference from his home in Finland just a few days after the ink had dried on his new deal. "That's the first step: to show the coaches that I'm ready to play in the NHL next season."
While Lundell still has a lot to prove, it's hard not to get excited looking at his budding résumé.
Turning heads while capturing a pair of medals within the span of roughly six months, the 19-year-old center was simply a force at both ends of the ice on the international stage this year.
In January, he captained Finland to a bronze medal and finished third in tournament scoring with 10 points (six goals, four assists) at the U-20 World Junior Championship in Edmonton, including netting a pair of goals in a decisive 4-1 victory over Russia in the third-place game.
Later put to the test against grown men at the World Championship in Latvia this month, his production didn't skip a beat. Leaving with a silver medal, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound native of Espoo, Finland led his team in scoring yet again with seven points (four goals, three assists).
"It's been one year that I will always remember," Lundell said. "I've been able to win medals with every team that I've been paying with this year. That gives me a lot of confidence. Too bad we weren't able to win the gold, but we had a good year. I just tried to play my best game and show everyone how good I am and what level I can play at from game to game."
When he wasn't lighting up the competition internationally, Lundell produced at nearly a point-per-game pace during his third season in Liiga. Suiting up in 26 games with HIFK, he registered 25 points (16 goals, nine assists), not including one goal and two assists in eight playoff games.
As a partial owner of his hometown Liiga team in Tampere, Barkov said he managed to catch a few of Lundell's games this season on television. Of course, in between those games, he would also see plenty of highlights on social media whenever Lundell had an incredible goal or assist.
