MIAMI – Matthew Tkachuk hasn’t stopped smiling since arriving to South Florida.
In addition to getting to know many of his new Florida Panthers teammates while taking part in some up-tempo informal skates at the Panthers IceDen in Coral Springs, the 2022 NHL All-Star forward has spent his first couple weeks in the Sunshine State soaking in his new surroundings.
On Monday, he threw out the ceremonial first pitch for the Miami Marlins.
“Now it feels real,” Tkachuk, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames in a blockbuster trade back in July, said before taking the mound at loanDepot Park. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere else. The season’s right around the corner. This is where you start to get the goosebumps.”
As for his first pitch, he wasn’t sweating that.
Growing up in St. Louis, Tkachuk was a multi-sport athlete and played baseball until fully turning his attention to hockey in his early teens. And even though he admitted he was a much bigger fan of “the hitting side” of the sport, he enjoyed getting a chance to dust off his old pitching arm.
So after receiving a custom Marlins home jersey from pitcher Pablo Lopez that featured “Tkachuk” and No. 19 on the back, he strolled out to the rubber at the center of the diamond, went through a quick windup, and tossed the ball to catcher Jacob Stallings at home plate.
Play ball!
“If we were doing batting practice I’d do better, but I’ll try to get it over the plate and throw a strike,” Tkachuk smiled. “I played second base and then third base [growing up]. I also played a little bit of catcher when I was really young. I was always the guy that was never allowed to pitch.”
Of course, the Panthers didn’t pursue him because of his fastball.
Selected by the Flames with the No. 6 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Tkachuk arrives in South Florida on the heels of a breakout 2021-22 campaign in which he was named to the NHL Second All-Star Team after setting career-highs in goals (42), assists (62 ) and points (104).
One of several new players looking to help put the Panthers over the edge after the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners were eliminated from last year’s playoffs by the cross-state rival Tampa Bay Lightning in Round 2, Tkachuk said he’s already got a good feeling about the upcoming season.
In addition to getting to join an established group centered around players like Alexander Barkov, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Sergei BobrovskyFlorida’s lineup also boasts several other newcomers in addition to Tkachuk such as Colin White, Rudolfs Balcers and Marc Staal.
“We have a lot of great players,” said Tkachuk, who is entering the first season of an eight-year deal with Florida. “It’s just getting acclimated to the guys. There’s a lot of different players from the past few years. It’s not just me; there are a lot of new faces. … We’ve done so much team stuff from the informal skates and hanging out the ice that it shouldn’t take us too long to get acclimated with each other.”
After opening training camp on Sept. 22, the Panthers will kick off their six-game preseason slate on Sept. 16 with a doubleheader against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena. On Oct. 13, they’ll begin their 2022-23 campaign on the road against the New York Islanders.
If Tkachuk had it his way, the puck would be dropping much sooner.
“It’s a great time of year but it’s also the time of year where you are so close but still have the next few weeks to get ready,” he said. “If it was up to me, I would fast-forward to Game 1 right now. It’s an exciting time, practicing with basically everyone on the team. It’s been so good to get to know everyone on and off the ice. It’s going to be a special year.”
The Panthers will kick off the 2022-23 season at FLA Live Arena against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 19, 2022. The first 10,000 fans through the doors will receive a commemorative magnet schedule courtesy of Bally Sports Florida. Click HERE to purchase your tickets today!
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