Tkachuk knows what it takes to reach top
Matthew Tkachuk said he didn’t collect his father’s hockey cards as a kid. But as the son of Keith Tkachuk, who played more than 1,200 games in the NHL, the Calgary Flames prospect made sure to pay attention to how hard his father worked to receive them — particularly his rookie card.
“He went to (Boston University) for one year and the next year went to camp and made the team,” said the younger Tkachuk at Monday’s NHLPA Rookie Showcase. “He said that the summer before that camp was the hardest he’s ever worked to put him in a spot to make it. I kind of took that as motivation.”
Tkachuk, who scored the overtime winner to help the London Knights win the Memorial Cup in May, has spent the summer taking a page out of his father’s workbook. He skipped world junior camp and instead has been training off the ice in Toronto, in order to be “re-energized and refocused for training camp.” As an 18-year-old, he either has to make the Flames’ roster or be returned to junior. And it’s clear what option he is hoping for.
“Everybody always says ultimately it’s (the Flames’) decision, but in my opinion I want to put all the weight of the pressure on my own shoulders,” said Tkachuk. “I want to go in there and compete for a job. It’s not going to be given to me and it’s not going to be easy. But I feel like I’ve had a great summer.”
It didn’t take long for Jesse Puljujarvi’s name to come up when talking to Pierre-Luc Dubois.
For Dubois, it’s something he’s getting used to. After all, most expected Puljujarvi would be the third-overall pick in the 2016 NHL Draft. So when the Columbus Blue Jackets selected Dubois instead — Puljujarvi went fourth overall to the Edmonton Oilers — it was natural that the two players would be compared and contrasted.
“I mean I always get the same question about that,” said Dubois. “But for me, I don’t really compare myself to anybody. I met him a few times. He’s a great player and a good guy. But there’s only one Jesse Puljujarvi and there’s only one PierreLuc Dubois. That’s all I can do.”
So, what can Dubois bring that Puljujarvi cannot? The answer: versatility.
“The fact that I can play all three forward positions helps me fit into the lineup,” he said.
A disappointing prospects camp might have been the best thing for Thomas Chabot’s development. At least, that’s what the Ottawa Senators defence prospect is telling himself.
It was in July when Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee expressed disappointment with the team’s 18th-overall pick in 2015, calling it “average” and saying that the 19- year- old “should have dominated.”
For Chabot, who is still hoping to crack the Senators’ roster this year, it was a wake-up call that he took to heart.
“I guess it was just a bump in the road,” he said. “I think it’s just good for me. I’m going to come back harder and show them that I just had a bad experience there ... I’m excited to go back there in September.
“To have a bad camp, I see it as a good thing for me because I know I have to work harder.”
If Chabot cannot crack Ottawa’s lineup, expect the defenceman to once again represent Canada at the world juniors, where he is the only potential returning defenceman.
After a disappointing sixth-place finish in last year’s tournament in Helsinki, Finland, Chabot said he and the rest of the team have something to prove — especially with the 2017 world juniors being held on home soil.
“I don’t want to go twice to the world juniors and not win anything,” said Chabot. “So I’m going back this year and try to make it my best.”
Even on a team of players who are under-24, the fact that Auston Matthews would be participating in the World Cup of Hockey was a bit surprising to most.
After all, the No. 1 pick in June’s NHL draft is only 18 years old. And unlike anyone else on Team North America, he has yet to play a game in the NHL.
But for Matthew Tkachuk, nothing is surprising anymore with Matthews, whose dominant play at the world juniors and world championship — along with his season in the Swiss league — garnered him an invite to the World Cup of Hockey.
“I’m honestly not that amazed,” said Tkachuk, who was Matthews’ linemate at the world juniors, where Matthews scored seven goals and 11 points in seven games. “I expected it from him. He’s such a great player and he deserves it. I think he’s going to open a ton of eyes in his first NHL event.”