Matthew Brendan Tkachuk (; born December 11, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey winger and alternate captain for the Florida Panthers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played in the NHL for the Calgary Flames. The Flames selected him in the first round, 6th overall, in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
The son of former NHL player Keith Tkachuk, Tkachuk was born in Scottsdale, Arizona and raised in the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur, Missouri. He is a product of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program and played one season of major junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), where he scored the game winning goal in overtime to win his team the 2016 Memorial Cup.
Internationally, Tkachuk has represented the United States at a U17 World Hockey Challenge, a U18 World Championship and at the 2016 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where his team won a bronze medal. In the 2021-22 and 2022-23 NHL seasons, Tkachuk was a top ten point-scorer in the league, registering 104 and 109 points, respectively. In 2023, Tkachuk was named a finalist for the NHL's Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's most valuable player.
Early life
Tkachuk was born in Scottsdale, Arizona, to Keith and Chantal (née Oster) Tkachuk. His father is a former National Hockey League player who had an 18-year career with the Winnipeg Jets, Phoenix Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and Atlanta Thrashers and is a member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. Tkachuk was born in Scottsdale while his father was playing for the Coyotes. His younger brother, Brady, is the captain of the Ottawa Senators, and his younger sister, Taryn, is an NCAA Division I field hockey player with the University of Virginia.
Tkachuk spent his formative years in NHL hockey rinks, watching his father practice from the players' bench. As an infant in Scottsdale, Tkachuk's mother would drop him off at the Phoenix Coyotes' former arena, the Ice Den, during his father's practice days, where the team's equipment managers would take on babysitting duties while she ran errands. Of his childhood, Tkachuk has said, "When you say you grew up in a rink people think, 'Oh, yeah, your dad played but you didn't really grow up there.' No, I literally grew up in the rink."
At age three, following his father being dealt to the St. Louis Blues, Tkachuk moved to the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur, Missouri, where he was raised. Tkachuk and his brother continued to regularly accompany their father to practices with the Blues and traveled to watch him play in multiple NHL All-Star games and the 2006 Winter Olympics. The Tkachuk family acted as a billet family for young St. Louis Blues players, and Tkachuk lived with NHL players David Backes, Lee Stempniak and Philip McRae at different times throughout his adolescence. Tkachuk attended the elementary program, formerly known as Oak Hill School, at Villa Duchesne, and completed the sixth through ninth grades at Chaminade College Preparatory School, where he was classmates with Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum.
During this time, Tkachuk played minor ice hockey with a youth affiliate of the St. Louis Blues, where he was teammates with fellow St. Louis-area players Clayton Keller, Logan Brown and Luke Kunin. Their team competed in the 2010 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. Tkachuk left St. Louis after the ninth grade to join the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Playing career
Junior
Tkachuk was drafted by the London Knights in the fourth round, 64th overall, of the 2013 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) Priority Selection. He played two seasons with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program for both the U.S. National U17 Team (USDP) and the U.S. National U18 Team (USDP). In his first season with the team, he registered 13 goals and 34 points in 53 games, and in his second season, he finished second on the team with 96 points (38 goals and 58 assists) in 65 games. During his time in Ann Arbor, Tkachuk played on a line with Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic, and lived part time with the family of teammate Christian Fischer.
Prior to the 2015-16 season, Tkachuk opted to join the London Knights roster, forfeiting his NCAA eligibility and de-committing from the University of Notre Dame. Playing on a line with Mitch Marner and Christian Dvorak, Tkachuk scored 107 points during the 2015-16 season (30 goals, 77 assists), placing him fifth overall in OHL scoring. He was named an OHL First Team All-Star and scored the game winning goal in overtime for the Knights in the 2016 Memorial Cup final.