Erik Gudbranson of the Vancouver Canucks fights for the puck against Matthew Tkachuk of the Calgary Flames in front of Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller during a game on Oct. 15, 2016.Ben Nelms/Getty Images
The audacity of Matthew Tkachuk was on display earlier in January when the Calgary Flames' 19-year-old rookie forward collided with the San Jose Sharks' brute of a defenceman, Brent Burns. Burns fumbled his stick as a result of the contact and it ended up entangled in Tkachuk's equipment. Smoothly, and without missing a beat, Tkachuk took the stick in hand and skated directly to the Flames' bench, with Burns in furious, mad pursuit, trying to get it back.
This, of course, is illegal in hockey – Tkachuk took a two-minute interference penalty on the play – but it was also a telling illustration of how little fazes him. The youngest player on the team is a big hit. In a year in which the NHL has absorbed one of its strongest, deepest rookie classes in decades, Tkachuk has flown a little under the radar, outside of Calgary, where everyone knows his name.
"He's bold, but he's not cocky," Flames' coach Glen Gulutzan said. "If you spend any time around the kid, you realize he's very humble. But he's a competitor and confident in his game."
Tkachuk was the sixth overall pick in the 2017 NHL entry draft. The third and fifth players, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Olli Juolevi, were immediately returned to junior. The fourth, Jesse Puljujarvi, was sent by Edmonton to the minors for further development.
But Tkachuk found a home in Calgary on a line with Mikael Backlund and Michael Frolik – and that trio has been the one constant in an up-and-down season for the Flames.
Two Saturdays ago against the Edmonton Oilers, Tkachuk had a nine-game point-scoring streak end.
No other NHL rookie – not Auston Matthews, not Patrik Laine, not Zach Werenski – had scored points in nine consecutive games.
And while those three, along with two other Leaf rookies, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, have been all the talk in the Calder Trophy conversation this season, Tkachuk is second in rookie assists, second in rookie plus-minus and fourth in overall rookie scoring, with 30 points, eight back of Matthews. The Flames play the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Monday night, the start of a three-game Eastern Canadian road trip.
Tkachuk was born in Scottsdale, Ariz., the same as Matthews, and the two are close friends, dating to their time playing in the U.S. national-development program. Last year, Tkachuk played one season of junior hockey with the London Knights, on the same line as Marner, and scored the overtime game-winner in their Memorial Cup championship.
Rising to the occasion is something that comes naturally to Tkachuk. He has the same ability to irritate opponents that his father, Keith, a career 1,065-point scorer in the NHL, once had.
Tkachuk is the third youngest player in the NHL this season behind Laine and Arizona's Jakob Chychrun – and won't turn 20 until December.
"For his age, he's a pretty strong kid, he's pretty solid," explained Frolik, his linemate. "I guess he got it from his dad, who was a big guy too. He's making strong plays on the wall, in our zone and in the offensive zone, and he can protect the puck on those cycles. I mean, he's not the fastest guy, but he can always put himself in a good spot.
"In the start, he took maybe a few bad penalties, but lately, he's been pretty good and I think he kind of learned how to do it the right way. He's had a good impact for sure."
For a time this season, Tkachuk led the NHL in minor penalties but had also drawn the most minor penalties in the league, which suggests he will be an agitator extraordinaire for years to come. This past Saturday, as the game against the Oilers got out of hand, Tkachuk picked up an additional 14 penalty minutes. He jostled constantly with Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl, and he increased his penalty-minutes total to 90, second in the league behind the Dallas Stars' Antoine Roussel.
Tkachuk is not a shrinking violet. You can love him or hate him, but you're not going to change him – much.
"We have talked to him about being more disciplined," Gulutzan said. "He's always in the tough areas, so it's an edge he's walking. The thing that always gets overlooked with him is he's drawn more penalties than he's taken. So he's still a plus in that regard – but you'd like to make it even a bigger spread. We want him to even walk that line a little better, but when we look at the big picture, he's doing a lot of things well."
Tkachuk's friendship with Matthews dates back four years. Both are born in the Phoenix area, but Tkachuk grew up in St. Louis, where his father played and eventually settled after his career ended. Tkachuk says he and Matthews speak all the time, but they didn't spend a lot of time dwelling on whether they might face each other in the NHL this season.
"Everyone goes into the year with the same mindset – to make the team – but it was a little bit different for me versus Auston," Tkachuk said. "Obviously, we knew Auston was going to play in the NHL right away, and most figured Mitch would. I was probably 50-50.
"I just went into every game with the same mindset and that's helped me so far. I knew from Day 1 I could make an impact at this level. Obviously, you're not used to the pace at the start, but the more games you play, the more you get used to it.
"I guess once you hit 19, you don't feel that age thing any more."
Tkachuk delivered that last line with a wry grin on his face. The fact is, it was never Calgary's intention to keep Tkachuk in the NHL this season. But after an effective training camp and a strong nine-game cameo in October, they shifted plans mid-stream. In a year in which some of their other young players – such as Sam Bennett and Sean Monahan – have had erratic moments, Tkachuk has been remarkably consistent.
"I wasn't sure if he'd play on our team when we drafted him," Gulutzan acknowledged. "He was a young player. We just wanted to see how he did at camp. But two things have allowed him to have success. One, his compete level is off the charts. Two, his hockey IQ is off the charts.
"And the best part of that is, the physical side is going to come. He's got the frame. He's got the size. He just needs to train like a pro for the next two or three years."
In short, the Flames believe the best is yet to come.
As for his memorable exchange with Burns, which spent days on the highlight reels, Tkachuk insisted it all happened very innocently.
"His stick just got caught in my body," Tkachuk said. "I got it into my hands when I was a couple of feet from the bench. But honestly, I didn't think about leaving it on the ice and I didn't really feel the need to give it back right away, so I just took it to the bench."
He smiled right there. Tkachuk's nickname is Chucky, from the horror film franchise, Child's Play. Watch him play long enough and you begin to understand why.