Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

An Impressive Rookie Season For Matthew Tkachuk

01/23/2017 at 9:18am EST

from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

“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.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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