LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Tkachuk ready to be a leader
Keith Tkachuk’s oldest son had just returned home for the off-season. And he was miserable.
That doesn’t seem like dream scenario for most dads, but Keith absolutely appreciated that Matthew was seething over the Flames’ failure to earn an invite to the NHL’s spring dance.
“I’d never seen him like that — with not making the playoffs and being off the ice too much with the injury, too, it was real frustrating for him,” said Keith, whose boy missed the final dozen contests of his sophomore season due to a concussion.
“Young guys, your first years in the league … Yeah, everyone wants to win, but a lot of guys are just happy to be there. He’s not just happy to be there. He was not happy about being off a month last year . ...
“I just love the fact that losing bothers him so much and he cares about his teammates and he’s willing to stick up for his teammates. I think that’s what makes good leaders.”
The Flames have noticed those leadership qualities in the 20-yearold left winger — they stitched an ‘A’ on his jersey last week.
Mikael Backlund was also added to the official letter-wearing crew with the linemates splitting alternate captain duties. The plan is for Tkachuk to rock the ‘A’ on the road — starting with Tuesday’s meeting with the Nashville Predators in Music City (6 p.m., Sportsnet Flames/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) — for the first few months, then at home for the second half of the slate. Backlund, of course, will do the opposite.
“It’s the most proud and honoured I’ve felt since I’ve been in the NHL,” Matthew Tkachuk said of having the vowel sewn on his No. 19 jersey. He and Backlund join captain Mark Giordano and full-time alternate Sean Monahan in Calgary’s leadership cast.
“I think there were a ton of great options and I was surprised to get it.”
Matthew might have been surprised. Nobody else was.
It’s no secret the gritty youngster is already an emotional leader for the Flames.
Leadership qualities seem to run in the Tkachuk family.
His father Keith was named captain of the Winnipeg Jets at the tender age of 21 and would later serve in that same role for the Arizona Coyotes. While a school-aged Matthew was hanging around the rink in St. Louis, his father was sporting an ‘A’ for the Blues.
“It’s the ultimate compliment to be given a letter,” said Keith, who along with wife Chantal has now raised two NHLers after Brady, 19, made his debut on Thanksgiving Day for the Ottawa Senators.
“For the Flames to give him that, it shows a lot of faith in him and what kind of player he is and what kind of person he is. And as parents, that makes us feel pretty darn good.
On the ice, the extra pressure doesn’t seem to be bothering Tkachuk at all. He piled up a careerhigh four assists in Saturday’s 7-4 win over the Vancouver Canucks at the Saddledome and is currently tops on the team with five points in two outings.
“I just want to make sure that this team is a playoff team,” Matthew said matter-of-factly. “I want to be a leader on the ice with the way I play, the way I play in big moments, the way I play in big games ... I want that to continue to get better and ultimately to make this team a playoff team.”