Luongo believes the Panthers have the next Pavel Datsyuk.

Roberto Luongo made some bold statements regarding one of his younger teammates on Friday. During a radio interview with Hockey Central at Noon Luongo compared 19 year old Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov to Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings.

“Somebody that flies under the radar a bit is Barkov. He reminds me a lot of Pavel Datsyuk, the way he skates and handles the puck and takes away the puck from other players,” said Luongo. “I don’t think he knows how good he is still.”

It's extremely high praise for such a young man, some might even call it a little extra pressure given the comments come from his team's star player in Luongo. While many may feel it's too early to be handing out that kind of praise for Barkov Luongo is firm in his belief.

"Once he figures out that he can be one of the best in the league, it's going to be pretty scary."

Barkov has a lot to prove if he's going to live up to those expectations, there's a reason Datsyuk is widely regarded as the "Magic Man," he's a smart and talented player with great vision on the ice and some of the very best hands in the business. Barkov has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points this season.