Quote:
Originally Posted by Da_Chief
Blues are the only heavy team in the final four. It would be nice to have players like Benn but those are hard to come by. How much of PF is Tkachuk? from what I've seen he's like a 1/4 of what his dad was.
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Depends how you define it. Had the chance to watch a full game of Tkachuk's last night. He's a power forward in the sense that he wins board battles, he's always crashing the net, he's always looking to screen the goalie. If you consider a power forward someone who throws huge hits every chance he gets and fights a lot then that's not necessarily his game. But he is very strong, protects the puck well and has a real greasy, grindy style around the net. Combine that with excellent puck handling, hockey IQ, vision and finishing.
If we wanna remove the preconceived notions around the word power forward then think about it like this. Tkachuk is a skilled forward with good strength who plays gritty behind the net, in front of the net and all around the net. He's highly skilled but does all the dirty work on his line.
As far as comparing him to his Dad I think Matthew is far more offensively skilled overall. His puck handling and playmaking are far better than his Dad's. He might not be quite as mean and physical overall but he'll shove you right back.