How does Matthew Tkachuk reach a new level?

[GreenLantern2814]

I love Chucky. I agree with the folks that that he's our future captain. It's less clear if you could win with Matthew Tkachuk as your best player - I think the answer to that is likely 'no', but Lord knows this franchise loves to insist upon building around wingers.

The skating is what the skating is; I don't think it's ever going to get vastly better, but as Jagr would say, "lots of guys get to the wrong places quickly. I go to the right places."

Matthew is 6 ft 2 200 lbs. He's branded as a pest by the media. I think he needs to stop being a pest and start being a bully. I don't see him being able to add another half-step or full step of speed to his arsenal, so go the other way.

Over the next two years (since this off season is going to be impossible to do anything of significance), he should focus on adding 10-15 lbs of muscle. He can't help the team if he's in the owner's suite.

Guys know he's a psycho, but they worry more about him doing cheap ####. Tkachuk is big enough that adding a little more muscle will allow him to administer pain more directly.



This is a bully game. It's one thing to be a pest when you're undersized or you've got Chara on your blue line. We don't have that.

Tkachuk needs to become a player that teams fear to engage with.

Just my thoughts .

[GioforPM]

Tkachuk needs to focus on consistency in his production. His self-criticism after the POs was correct. Before his injury he just wasn’t that effective.

Possibly a move off of the main checking line could help.

[Huntingwhale]

He will get better as he matures. Still crazy to think he's only 22 years old and yet he shouldered the blame for yet another 1st round exit. I genuinely believe the series might have turned out differently if he wasn't injured. We'll never know. But he seems like a player who is happy to put the weight of the team on his shoulders when he wants to.

I think he has extra gear inside of him, but it might take time for him to figure out how to use it. But I'll never doubt his effort, passion or will to win. My worry is the team fails to build around him correctly and then we're in yet another typical Flames' scenario where we have a great winger who doesn't get to play with an elite C and then everyone complains about how terrible it is to build around yet another winger.

[Textcritic]

I doubt very much that adding 15 lbs muscle will accomplish much beyond slowing Tkachuk down even more. I think his playing weight is fine as it is, and the most improvement he can make is psychological.

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[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

He will get better as he matures. Still crazy to think he's only 22 years old and yet he shouldered the blame for yet another 1st round exit. I genuinely believe the series might have turned out differently if he wasn't injured. We'll never know. But he seems like a player who is happy to put the weight of the team on his shoulders when he wants to.

I think he has extra gear inside of him, but it might take time for him to figure out how to use it. But I'll never doubt his effort, passion or will to win. My worry is the team fails to build around him correctly and then we're in yet another typical Flames' scenario where we have a great winger who doesn't get to play with an elite C and then everyone complains about how terrible it is to build around yet another winger.

Yes, his off ice game is wonderful

I would love to think he would have made a difference if he wasn’t hurt. But his on ice game this play-in plus first round, 2 points in 6 games, was exactly in line with his career 5 points in 15 games.

He could shoulder the blame for 10 more years if that’s all he can muster on ice

He needs to find that extra gear on ice that you talk about, because his off ice game is quite well formed

[Flash Walken]

Better linemates

[DeluxeMoustache]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Better linemates

The Flames have a better C than Backlund? Even Tkachuk’s dad speaks highly of Backs

He was the Flames best player by far the 20 or so games pre COVID

But I would agree that they need to take a good look at Mangiapane and determine if he is a second or third line winger

[codynw]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Better linemates

He plays with Backlund, who was one of the Flames' best and most productive forwards in the playoffs. Not a great excuse.

[CaptainCrunch]

The guys 22 and we're already saying we're not going to win with him, adding 15 pounds of muscle is not going to improve his skating, its going to make it worse.


If anything he should probably work on his explosiveness and his lean mucle mass so that he can be quicker with his skating style from a stand still.


He's still in his development stage. You can absolutely win with players like MT, in fact, I wish I had more on ice jerks that give a crap.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by codynw

He plays with Backlund, who was one of the Flames' best and most productive forwards in the playoffs. Not a great excuse.

Time to stop using flames players and the flames organization as benchmarks

[Mass_nerder]

I don't know why this comparison always comes up in my head, but he reminds me of Landeskog; he's the heart and soul of the team, he plays heavy, he's not afraid to be a #### disturber, he's going to put up good (not great) point totals.

I know that Landeskog is a better skater, and I'm hoping Chucky continues to put up more points, but that's kind of what I feel Tkachuk will be for us.
Great to have, but we probably need a few other guys that can put up more points.

[Classic_Sniper]

Matthew Tkachuk has already reached the upper echelon, he’s a franchise player. Although If you’re talking about a 90-100 point player, I don’t think that’s him. What he can be is a “half court” style player who can dominate below the hashmarks while creating opportunities on the cycle.

I’m very interested to see what he and the MMA line can do for a full season as they were excellent in February/March and against the Jets. I love this line as they can take on the hardest matchups and force the opposition’s top lines to defend while scoring on them as well. That’s a massive swing and what I would consider a winning formula. This team needs more lines like the MMA line.


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[Mass_nerder]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

The Flames have a better C than Backlund? Even Tkachuk’s dad speaks highly of Backs

He was the Flames best player by far the 20 or so games pre COVID

But I would agree that they need to take a good look at Mangiapane and determine if he is a second or third line winger

Backs is a fantastic player, but if we want Chucky to be "the guy", he's going to have to play with more offensively talented players, imo.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by codynw

He plays with Backlund, who was one of the Flames' best and most productive forwards in the playoffs. Not a great excuse.

That fact that Backlund was one of our most productive forwards is exactly why it's a great excuse.

And that's not a shot at Backlund.

[Jaydee]

He gets a world class skating coach 3 years ago and dedication to become a smooth skater.

[Finger Cookin]

Oh are we starting the Tkachuk isn't a "true"/"generational"/"bona-fide" top line LW now? Cool.

[868904]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

The guys 22 and we're already saying we're not going to win with him, adding 15 pounds of muscle is not going to improve his skating, its going to make it worse.


If anything he should probably work on his explosiveness and his lean mucle mass so that he can be quicker with his skating style from a stand still.


He's still in his development stage. You can absolutely win with players like MT, in fact, I wish I had more on ice jerks that give a crap.

Bo Horvat turned his skating from a weakness to a strength AFTER he was drafted. They (Tkachuk and Mony) can still become better skaters, they just need the right coach and the will.

[VilleN]

Originally Posted by Jaydee

He gets a world class skating coach 3 years ago and dedication to become a smooth skater.

He did this, did he not? Dawn Braid? He’ll never be an above average skater.

[calgaryred]

Tkachuk gets powerplays, Flames put out a good pp it solves some issues right there.

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[Calgary4LIfe]

It is tough to figure out how players should be building in the off-season if you are not a high-level trainer (which I am not), but I don't think bulking up is going to help Tkachuk. Sure, it will make him more difficult to handle in front of the net and in the corners, but it is going to slow him down some more.


Muscles need oxygen + energy to work. The more muscles you have, the more you will need. That's why you often see in the UFC a 'bulky looking dude' start off great, but is noticeably more gassed than the competitor who is skinner, but doesn't LOOK as fit. Those muscles demand a tonne of oxygen.


So when you are watching hockey, it is tough to figure out sometimes if a guy is lazy, or he is out of shape, or if he is in extremely good shape but has trained wrong.


Iginla started training to avoid bulking up so that he could maintain that extra half-step. I remember looking at Monahan and thinking: "I think he has been bulking up too much" - I do think his first half-step is an issue, and maybe later on in the shifts getting gassed is an issue. Maybe. Of course I am no expert, and just offering some food for thought.


Gaudreau - he doesn't need to 'bulk up' - that's not his game. He could bulk up his legs some more to give him more of a pull-away speed and be harder to knock down, but he should never bulk up much more than he is on his upper body, IMO, as he will just always be smaller than most guys he has to compete with anyway. It would probably hurt his game more than help it, IMO.


Mangiapane and Bennett? Yeah, they are fine as is, but they can be guys that could tack on a bit more upper body (not just legs - ALL players should probably be bulkier on the legs, IMO) since they play a 'rougher game' than Gaudreau and Monahan, and both of them are strong skaters.


That's just how I think of it. Backlund is a nightmare for the opposing teams' best forwards not because he is able to knock them down with strength, but because he can just keep skating out there and is relentless - that's how Frolik was too on that line.



Tkachuk? Just work on the legs I think. Try to develop more explosive speed - I don't think he needs better top speed, just a quicker half-step to get to the pucks with some better edge-work. Lucic is all top-line speed - one of the fastest on the team I bet, but it is that first step - always a half-step behind - that hurts his game.


Putting more upper body weight on Tkachuk will make him a bit slower over-all, but especially in the 2nd half of a lot of shifts as well as when the games wear on. He will start looking more 'lazy', but it really is him being more gassed. I THINK that Monahan should actually trim down and become more wiry like Bennett if anything. I think it would help his game out, especially since he isn't an aggressive player out there.


However, everything I wrote is essentially kind of silly as the Flames have one of the best strength and conditioning coaches in the business, and whatever problems he has seen (if any) I am sure he has the players on the right program to adjust and/or fix outright.