A week away from embarking on a national barnstorming tour of sorts, Matthew Tkachuk showed up at the Saddledome Wednesday with his first cheeky affront to Canadian hockey fans.
It came in the form of a USA Hockey t-shirt he sported as a playful jab at Canadian teammates reeling from world junior disappointment at the hands of Tkachuk’s fellow Americans.
Call it an early jump on being Canada’s most reviled player.
“You don’t want to brag too much,” smiled Canada’s Prince of Perturbing. “I came in here today pretty even-keeled and had a little smirk going and waited for someone to say something to me before I went right back at them.”
Yes, a good chunk of Calgary Flames got their first taste of the famous smirk that irks – a grating grin the 6-foot-2, 202-pound winger has offered up to players league-wide the last four years.
“I had a lot of different people I bet with — we won’t get into any of those,” said the game’s biggest star agitator outside of Brad Marchand.
“All I can say is I’m pumped I won. Definitely proud of the guys for the whupping they put on the boys from Canada. That was fun to watch. Because I played, and was at that stage, I definitely take a lot of pride in watching them.”
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As a former member of the U.S. National Team Development Program, as well as the bronze medal-winning American team at the 2016 world juniors, Tkachuk bleeds red, white and blue. His taunting t-shirt was a tribute to the late Jim Johannson, a beloved USA Hockey executive who was so instrumental in the country’s ongoing hockey development.
With a list of former national team colleagues that includes Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Charlie McAvoy, Dylan Larkin and Noah Hanifin, it comes as no surprise the 23-year-old son of a former U.S. Olympian cherishes the possibility of representing the U.S. at the world’s next top tourney.
“I do think about that a lot,” said the Phoenix native, who calls St. Louis home in the off-season.
“Whether it’s next Olympics or World Cup, it would be unbelievable to represent your country in a best-on-best like that. I’d say other than winning a Stanley Cup, winning an Olympic gold is probably next on my bucket list for my playing career. I’d love to get a chance to do that.”
As Tkachuk is poised to prove to Canadians from coast to coast, he’s certainly talented enough to be included on the next American Olympic team.
Taking centre stage in the hockey world last year by single-handedly resurrecting the Battle of Alberta, the Flames’ future captain also quietly went about leading Calgary in scoring despite being parked on the team’s top shutdown line.
This year the former 34-goal scorer has opened Flames camp alongside Elias Lindholm on what may be the basis of the team’s new top trio moving forward.
And while the North Division and all its back-to-back battles will certainly give Tkachuk plenty of opportunities to remind fans how agitating he can be, he’ll also be sure to inflict pain on opponents by way of his offensive skill.
Case in point, his buzzer-beating, between-the-legs snipe in Nashville last year was amongst the very best goals the NHL has seen in ages.
“I don’t just want to be known as a certain type of player, I want to be a player who makes a difference every single night,” said Tkachuk, who wears an A on his jersey with pride.
“I look at (the Flames season) like I look at myself. I have to take not only a step, but two, five or 10 steps forward this year to be the player I want to be.”
The parity and natural rivalries he’s helped build in the seven-team Canadian division should be the perfect fit for him.
“I don’t think it will affect my style at all – actually kind of the opposite, it suits my style more this year,” said Tkachuk, when asked if he’d have to change his game to meet the demands of what promises to be an intense division.
“I think one of my gifts is it doesn’t take me very much to get up for games. Coming into an all-Canadian division it’s going to be a rivalry every night, and a lot of eyes on us in this country. It’s going to be exciting.”
And gritty.
Exactly how Tkachuk likes it.
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