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Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk he knows hockey culture is steeped in tradition, but he’s not particularly worried about ruffling feathers.
Tkachuk, 27, who won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers last season he enjoyed pushing the boundaries both on the ice with his tough style of play and off the ice with his colorful displays.
As the American-born player explains, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I have the ability to appeal to different groups of people in the U.S. with hockey and my personality, playing in South Florida, being born in Arizona and being from St. Louis,” Tkachuk said exclusively. My Weekly ahead of the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off, which begins on February 12. “I’m very lucky in that sense. I’m just thinking, why not be yourself? Why waste all this time having the time of my life and not acting like me? Why wouldn’t I show my personality?”
Billie Weiss/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images; Bruce Bennett/Getty Images High school buddies Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk added their first championships to their professional resumes during the week. Boston Celtics star Tatum, 26, won his first NBA title as the Celtics beat the Dallas Mavericks in Game 5 of the NBA Finals (…)
He added: “That’s how I approach it. Some people like it, some people don’t. But I will never change being myself.”
Tkachuk, the son of an 18-year NHL veteran Keith Tkachukhe said that gamers of this generation feel the freedom to step out of the box more than ever.
“I think guys’ mindsets have changed a little bit,” Matthew explained. “They can express themselves more than they were 10, 15, 20 years ago. And I think that’s great. I think it’s great for personalities. I think it’s great when the fans interact with the players more, they get to see them more. I think that’s very important for the development of the game.”
Matthew will help expand hockey’s reach even further by representing the United States in the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off, where the league’s best players from the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland face off in a best-on-best tournament. Joining Matthew on Team USA is his younger brother, the Ottawa Senators star Brady Tkachuk.
Competition aside, Matthew is looking forward to showcasing the beauty of the sport’s international appeal.
“One thing I really like about hockey is you have so many different guys from so many different places in the world,” Matthew said. “Hockey is the only thing that unites them all. It doesn’t matter if you’re from Russia, Finland, or Sweden, in the weird scheme of things, you’re pretty much the same as you were raised in the game. It’s pretty cool.”
He added: “I like meeting teammates from different backgrounds and from different parts of the world. Some of my great friends in hockey are from places that are so different than where I’m from.”
Along the way, Matthew will look fresh with a role as off-ice ambassador for fashion and lifestyle brand Perry Ellis.
“I just love their stuff,” Matthew gushed. “I’m excited to not only be able to wear it for the 4 Nations, but to be able to wear it just for myself on a normal day. I think it looks amazing and that they’re going to be with us at USA Hockey, I think everyone is going to really enjoy it.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off kicks off on February 12th, with games in Montreal and Boston leading up to the championship game on February 20th. Tickets for all 4 Nations Face-Off matches are available to purchase via Ticketmaster.com.
