Matthew Tkachuk is having himself quite the sophomore season and he’s gaining a reputation as one of the peskiest skaters in the league to play against.
Don Cherry likes what he’s seeing out of the young Calgary Flames forward and alluded to the apple not falling far from the tree.
“I remember his dad [Keith Tkachuk]. Boy, was his dad tough. He could throw ’em and [Matthew] can throw ’em pretty good,” Cherry said during the Coach’s Corner segment on Hockey Night in Canada Saturday. “Good little hitter. I give him the ultimate compliment: he reminds me of [Boston Bruins star Brad Marchand] and I can’t say anything better than that.”
Not everyone would consider a comparison to Marchand to be a compliment, but Cherry sure does. Marchand’s ability to get under his opponents’ skin is uncanny but his impact on the ice is undeniable. His 1.29 points per game is second only to Nikita Kucherov for the NHL lead.
Tkachuk is quickly developing a similar reputation with 21 goals, 20 assists and 47 penalty minutes in 56 games heading into Saturday’s game against the Florida Panthers.
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