NY Islanders superstar Mat Barzal has Olympic Games doppelgänger

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris are winding down with the closing ceremony set for Saturday. While we’re all familiar with the most popular athletes like Katie Ledecky, Simone Biles, and LeBron James, it’s an opportunity to witness other athletes we may not know much about.

Certain names always emerge whether it be for something incredible they’ve accomplished, something out of the ordinary, or for having a familiar face.

Mat Barzal has become the face of the NY Islanders since joining the team in 2017, and today we learned Barzy has an Olympic doppelgänger for the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan.

A familiar face from a not so familiar land

Denis Petrashov is a 24-year-old swimmer who competed in the Men’s 200 Meter and 100 Meter Breaststroke events. He made it as far as the semi-final in the 200m and was eliminated in his first heat in the 200m.

Only 24 years old, this was Petrashov’s third Olympic Games, competing at the 2016 Games in Rio and 2021 in Tokyo.

Petrashov has some hardware to his name, taking home gold in the 100m and 200m breaststroke at the 2022 Maccabiah Games in Israel.

He competes collegiately at the University of Louisville, finishing second in the 200m Breaststroke at the 2022 ACC Championships.

Standing 6’4”, Petrashov has some size on Barzal - better suited to be an NHL defenseman rather than a shifty, skilled winger.

It's cutting it close, but Petrashov's hair may be a bit too long for Lou Lamoriello's liking.

When the 2026 Winter Olympics get underway in Milano Cortino, Italy, it’ll be 12 years since NHL players represented their countries on the biggest international stage.

As things currently stand, the NHL will be returning to the Olympics in 2026, with Barzal potentially being a fit for Team Canada.

The Great White North will be the tournament favorites, and with a strong 2024-25 season for the Islanders, Barzal could inch his way closer to becoming an Olympic athlete himself.