Keith Tkachuk

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Keith Tkachuk bigraphy, stories - American ice hockey player

Keith Tkachuk : biography

March 28, 1972 –

Keith Matthew Tkachuk ( born March 28, 1972) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played for four teams and three franchises in his 19-year career. He is one of only four American-born players to score 500 goals, and is the sixth American player to score 1,000 points.

Awards

  • Hockey East All-Rookie Team — 1991
  • NHL Second All-Star Team — 1995, 1998
  • Played in 5 NHL All-Star Games — 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009
  • NHL Player of the Week — December 6, 1993; April 1, 1994; April 7, 1997

Records

Tkachuk led the NHL in goals during the 1996–97 season with 52, the first American-born player to do so. That season he was also only the fourth player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season.

Other records:

  • Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career game-winning goals (40)
  • Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career penalty minutes (1,508)

Personal life

Tkachuk has been married to Chantal Oster, whom he met in Winnipeg since February 28, 1997, and has three children, named Matthew, Braeden, and Taryn. He is still a fan favorite in St. Louis and is an investor in sports talk radio station KFNS (590 AM, St. Louis MO). He is an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues Peewee AAA hockey team, his son Braeden plays on the team

Tkachuk is Irish on his mother’s side, and is cousin to NHL player Tom Fitzgerald, whom he grew up with. When asked about the derivation of his surname, Tkachuk was unsure, suggesting it could either be "Polish, Russian, [or] Ukrainian, one of those." He is also cousin with the Chicago Blackhawks prospect, Kevin Hayes.

Playing career

Tkachuk began his hockey career at Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Massachusetts. Tkachuk played collegiate hockey at Boston University, was a member of the U.S. National Junior team in 1991 and 1992, and a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1992. He was drafted in the first round (19th overall) in the 1990 entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets who acquired the pick from the Buffalo Sabres in the deal that sent Dale Hawerchuk to Buffalo. Tkachuk played as Center, Left Winger and Right Winger in his career.

Tkachuk has earned the nickname "Walt" (given to him by Eddie Olczyk), possibly in reference to Walter Tkaczuk, a star center who played for the New York Rangers from 1967 to 1981. The two players’ last names are pronounced similarly but spelled differently, and the two men are not related to each other. With his great play in front of the net, using his size and strength to battle opposing defensemen, St. Louis Blues broadcasters and fans dubbed Tkachuk "Big Walt".

Winnipeg Jets (1992–1996)

Only days after the end of the Olympics, Tkachuk made his NHL debut on February 28, 1992, against the Vancouver Canucks and tallied an assist. He would finish the season with the Jets, getting eight points in 17 games. In the playoffs that year, he scored three goals in seven games. The following season, 1992–93, was Tkachuk’s official rookie year. He appeared in 83 games and ended the season with 28 goals and 51 points, including a 12–game scoring streak from March 9 to April 3, 1993.

Tkachuk became the team captain the next season on November 3, 1993, two weeks after recording his first hat trick, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Some of his accomplishments from that season include leading the Jets in goals (41), points (81), and power play goals (22). The 1994–95 season, which was shortened by a lockout, saw Tkachuk earn all-star second-team honors, as well as being second on the team in points.

In the 1995–96 season, Tkachuk dominated the Jets’ statistics finishing first in goals (50), assists (48), points (98), power play goals (20), game-winning goals (6), shots (249), and plus/minus (+11).

Tkachuk was stripped of the Jets captaincy, at the start of the 1995–96 NHL season (the Winnipeg Jets last season), after a contract dispute. Kris King was named the new captain. Tkachuk was restored as captain at the start of the 1996–97 NHL season, when the Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to become the Phoenix Coyotes.