Flames’ Tkachuk having Calder-caliber year amid loaded rookie class

NEW YORK – Matthew Tkachuk’s eyes narrow as he squints to keep the sun out of his eyes after the Calgary Flames’ outdoor practice on Saturday afternoon, the two thin black stripes applied under each eye doing nothing close to their intended job.

All hockey players are inexperienced at dealing with sunlight, but Tkachuk’s eye black, above cheeks that want to sprout a beard but aren’t really, and a neck flecked with a couple of pimples, give him away as a 19-year-old. The only way you’d really know is to look at him up close, because when he’s on the ice with other NHLers, there’s no way to tell.

“I’ve talked with a lot of people about him, and he’s like a polished professional already with the way he plays and the plays he makes,” says Calgary winger Kris Versteeg. “He’s really intelligent, and you can see that once his game starts to come along physically, and he matures more over the years, he’s going to be a really good player for a long time.”

That would put Tkachuk in good company in his family. His father, Keith, scored 538 goals with 527 assists from 1992-2010 for the original Jets, Coyotes, Blues and Thrashers. Matthew, incredibly, is ahead of the pace set by his dad.

Keith debuted a month before his 20th birthday, scoring three goals with five assists for Winnipeg in 17 games during the 1992 stretch run. Matthew, the No. 6 pick in the draft last June, started in the NHL two months before turning 19, and had a goal and an assist on Sunday at Madison Square Garden and added an assist in Pittsburgh on Monday to bring his rookie totals to 10 and 24.

In an ordinary year, Tkachuk would be one of the frontrunners for the Calder Trophy, if not the outright favourite. This, however, is not an ordinary year.

“He’s for sure up there, but Toronto having those high-end skill guys, it takes some attention away from Chukky,” says Tkachuk’s linemate, Mikael Backlund. “Chukky’s right up there for the Calder, for me.”

Those high-end skill guys for Toronto would be No. 1 pick Auston Matthews, rookie scoring leader Mitchell Marner, and another son of a former NHL forward, William Nylander. That’s not to mention Patrik Laine and his 23 goals for the Jets, and the fine blue-line play by Zach Werenski with the Blue Jackets. There will be Calder votes that go to Tkachuk, for sure, but it’s hard to see a path for him to win it. He’s aware of that, but still wants to make his mark amid this talented rookie class.

“You want to be the best, so I go into every game trying to be the best player,” Tkachuk says. “You want to be the best player on the ice and part of a winning team. That’s the mindset you have to have, for every game. You want to be a difference maker. All that (award) stuff comes with it, but you don’t think about it too much. I know there’s some pretty good rookies out there, especially in the East, where we don’t get to see them a whole lot. But when you’re going up against them, you want to try to be the best player on the ice.”

Tkachuk was the best rookie skating on Sunday, in a game that also featured Rangers newcomers Pavel Buchnevich, Brady Skjei and Jimmy Vesey, no slouches. The Flames were 4-3 losers, a setback in their chase for a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but with Tkachuk joining a young core that includes Sam Bennett, Johny Gaudreau, Dougie Hamilton and Sean Monahan – all 23 and under – it’s easy to see that the future in Calgary is as bright as that New York sunshine reflecting off the Central Park ice.

Even in his first year, Tkachuk has established himself as part of that core. What’s particularly intriguing about him is thinking about what might be ahead as he fills out. Tkachuk is the same height as his dad, a renowned power forward, but listed at only 202 pounds, some 30 pounds lighter than Keith, with room on his frame to eventually match up. Matthew’s game already is at the right level to succeed in the NHL.

“The impressive thing for Matthew is, when you come from junior, there’s usually a lot of bad habits, because they’re so good, and they’re playing with young players, and they can do what they want,” Flames coach Glen Gulutzan says. “I think the biggest, most impressive thing that I’ve seen Matthew do is adapt to the NHL game very quickly, almost from game one. He stopped taking long shifts. He didn’t make high-risk plays. He never forced anything. He arguably was one of our top puck managers, making the right play at the right time. That’s very impressive for a young guy.”

It’s made Tkachuk a top-six forward for a playoff contender at an age when his father was still playing college hockey. Matthew went the junior route, and believes that last year’s experience of an OHL season, playoffs, and Memorial Cup run helped him prepare for the grind of 82 games in the NHL. That is, if anything really can.

“I know when I was 18, 19, I couldn’t imagine playing in the NHL,” says Versteeg, who was 22 when he finished third in the 2009 Calder vote, ahead of the teenaged Drew Doughty and Steven Stamkos. “Even when I got my first games at 21 (13 games in 2007-08), I was a little overwhelmed, I thought, at times, by the pace of the game. These kids come in a little more prepared now. I think, back in the day, when I was coming in, we were always thought to go to the AHL first, then to the NHL. Now, kids just go right to the NHL and they’re given that opportunity, and he’s making it count.”

Only one player can win the Calder. It probably won’t be Tkachuk, but he certainly does seem on his way to joining the scores of players who didn’t win the top honors as a rookie but went on to special careers.