A new face on the Canadian Hockey League scene this season, London Knights forward and top rated North American prospect Matthew Tkachuk has come along and turned heads across the country with his intriguing blend of size, skill, patience and a knack for precision passing.
The younger Tkachuk, at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, also has a pretty good idea what it’s going to take to reach the next stage of his playing career.
Matthew Tkachuk, Clayton Keller, Logan Brown, Luke Kunin, Trent Frederic, Joseph Woll, and Tommy Nappier are listed on the 2016 NHL Draft Central Scouting Report Mid Terms Rankings.
Forward Matthew Tkachuk of London of the Ontario Hockey League was named the No. 1 North American skater on NHL Central Scouting’s midterm ranking of the top prospects for the 2016 NHL Draft.
London Knights forward Matthew Tkachuk will wear the ‘C’ for Team Orr. The annual showcase of the Canadian Hockey League’s top 40 draft-eligible players is set for Jan. 28 at the Pacific Coliseum.
He’s not sure if it’s even allowed anymore, but from the time he was about five years old until he was around 10, Matthew Tkachuk got to practice with the St. Louis Blues.
As two of the NHL’s top prospects, Mitch Marner and Matthew Tkachuk of the London Knights share the same childhood dream of playing pro hockey.
“This is a young, talented group that has experience winning on the international level,” said Jim Johannson, USA Hockey’s assistant executive director of hockey operations and the general manager of the 2016 U.S. National Junior Team.
Most recently, Tkachuk exploded for a five-point night in the Knights’ 9-4 rout of the Mississauga Steelheads on Sunday. The offensive dynamo had a hat trick and added two assists, making it his second 5+ point night (he registered six points against the Guelph Storm on November 6).
Among the players Central Scouting believes could go in the first round in June are London left wings Matthew Tkachuk (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) and Max Jones (6-3, 205), and defenseman Olli Juolevi (6-2, 179), as well as Mississauga centers Michael McLeod (6-2, 188) and Alexander Nylander (6-0, 179) and right wing Nathan Bastian (6-4, 208).
