The Tkachuk Family Celebrating Their Asses Off Watching Matthew Win The Stanley Cup Is An All-Time Hockey Family Moment
It's hard to explain just how much the Tkachuk family means to the sport of hockey right now, and especially American hockey. Keith Tkachuk was a 500 goal scorer, a 1000 point scorer, and a guy who had over 2000 penalty minutes in his career. He was the definition of a power forward who owned the position at its height in the 90s.
Matthew and Brady grew up in that game. They were constantly at the rink and in the locker room around guys who played the game with an edge. The way the sport is going now, most hockey players care more about highlight reels ending up on Instagram than playing the game the right way. But Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are throwbacks who are keeping Big Walt's style of play alive 20 years later. They score a shit ton of goals, they make a shit ton of plays, and they piss a shit ton of people off. They're everything you could ever want in a hockey player.
The one thing missing from Keith Tkachuk's career was a Stanley Cup ring. But tonight he finally got a chance to lift the Cup for the first time thanks to his boy getting the job done.
I know the Florida Panthers technically won the Stanley Cup tonight, but we'll forever remember this as the night that the Tkachuk's got their name etched onto the Cup for eternity. This family deserves to celebrate their balls off tonight, and get after it all damn summer.
You see how much it means to them. And those right there are the faces of American hockey. That is what the game is all about. Talent out the ass, but pride themselves in their physical play and ability to impact the game off the scoresheet. When the NHL finally allows players to participate in the Olympics again, you need to slap a 'C' on Matthew's jersey, an 'A' on Brady's, and just let Big Walt give the boys a Herb Brooks speech before every game. God this family rules so hard. Such a sick memory for them to all have for the rest of their lives.
Sidenote: While we're talking about feel good family moments, this speech from Paul Maurice is incredible.
Fuck, man. Gonna go let out a quick little cry before watching that at least 5 more times.