Player Discussion Brady Tkachuk: Episode 4 - A new hope

[Sens of Anarchy]

 

[Alf Silfversson]

Really impressed, and pleasantly surprised, at how well he's been able to produce. If he improves strength, balance and explosiveness he's going to be an awesome player to have.

 

[DJB]

The keys to Brady Tkachuk's rapid growth on and off the ice...

Anyone have a bit more of this article?

 

[ScJeff]

Is Brady eligible for AHL playoffs if Belleville makes it? Was he on the clear day roster?

 

[Silencio]

The keys to Brady Tkachuk's rapid growth on and off the ice...

Anyone have a bit more of this article?

The Ottawa Senators parted ways with their three top scoring forwards at the trade deadline and, in Mark Stone and Matt Duchene, two of the most influential personalities on the team.
One of the big questions after the trade deadline was how would the space created by their departures be filled? And in particular, how would the trading of Stone affect a rookie like Brady Tkachuk, who had played most of his hockey on a line with one of the NHL’s best two-way players?
Thirteen games after the trade deadline and 13 games into the Senators rebuild toward Unparalleled Success™ does Tkachuk look worried?
Losing this floss-off with a young fan is pretty much the only thing that hasn’t worked out for Tkachuk since the trades.
There have been adjustments to his game on the ice under interim head coach Marc Crawford, who took over for Guy Boucher on March 1, and we’ll get to those in a moment.
What’s been more interesting — and of more importance perhaps in the long term for the rebuilding Senators — is Tkachuk, though just a teenager, has helped fill the leadership deficit that was created with the departure of Stone and, to a lesser extent, Duchene.
Tkachuk’s personality, straight ahead, brash and antagonistic on the ice; a bit of goofy teenager meets hockey old soul off it, has become an important influence in the dressing room, according to Senators goaltender Craig Anderson.
“That’s the type of guy we want to surround ourselves with. The guys who are willing to put in the extra work and they come here no matter whether there’s sun shining or there’s a cloud of Charlie Brown above you,” Anderson said.
“He has been the guy every time you see him he’s enjoying his time on the ice, he’s enjoying his time around the room. He’s just on Cloud 9 at all times. He’s enjoying the moment of being in the National Hockey League. Sometimes that can be lost over the course of many seasons.
“He’s a special player for us and a special human being and he’s kind of earned the respect and the hearts of all the guys in the room. That’s tough to do in this league especially when there are a lot of changes. To be well respected at such an early age is a credit to him for his personality but also his work ethic and his drive to be better.”
Anderson, 37, is almost twice Tkachuk’s age. The embrace the two shared after the Senators defeated the Edmonton Oilers on Tkachuk’s overtime goal Saturday, Anderson’s first win since Dec. 17, showed some real emotion on Tkachuk’s part.
“Everyone goes through stuff like that. It’s definitely tough. You do everything you can. Andy has been great. He’s done everything he can. It’s just been a couple of bad bounces,” Tkachuk said Monday. “To see it finally happen and to see how excited he was, it was pretty special and it was great to see. I’ll bet it was a huge relief for him.”
Anderson appreciates the work ethic Tkachuk brings to the rink. It’s what allows a veteran like Anderson to appreciate Tkachuk doing something like a flossing contest with a kid during the warmup.
“He’s a guy who can be loose and play to the best of his ability,” Anderson said. “The fan interaction is what it’s all about. Now that kid has a memory for life. You go and snow a guy on the glass. It’s a memory for life. We’re here to make memories for kids and make memories for the fans. We shouldn’t be robots come game day.
“I still remember Jeremy Roenick talking about throwing pucks over the glass. I have to get the story right, but I think Gordie Howe threw a puck to him or somebody threw a puck to him.
“If you’re having fun you’re usually enjoying your work. To be miserable doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. It comes down to the personality. It doesn’t matter if you’re a young guy or an old guy, if your personality sucks, it sucks.”
It’s a credit to Tkachuk he has been able to accomplish what he has after the trade deadline considering the loss of the Senators’ veteran offensive talent. Nobody would have been surprised if the teenager had seen his offence decline without the influence and insulation of a player like Stone.
But Tkachuk has increased his offence post-trade deadline. Tkachuk’s goals per game (goals up to 1.40 per 60 compared to 1.07 per 60 pre-deadline) and shots per game (3.46 shots per game vs. 2.78) are up since Feb. 25.

GP	G	A	PTS	Shots	Shooting%	TOI/G
Pre-deadline	51	14	17	31	142	9.8	15:27
Post-deadline	13	5	3	8	45	11.1	16:31

[TBODY] [/TBODY]
[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Crawford said they have set a goal for Tkachuk to be the leading rookie shooter in the league.
Here’s how it breaks down going into games Monday, via NHL.com:

Crawford’s logic is the more you shoot, the more you score.
“I think he’s taking ownership of his own play,” Crawford said of Tkachuk’s trajectory since the trade deadline. “One of the things we’ve been working with Brady on is in his offensive play. We want to see him be assertive. He certainly plays with a very robust style. He takes pucks to the net and he’s a good shooter and he does those things almost naturally.
“Now we’re trying to get him to really understand why he’s successful in the offensive zone. If you look at it simply it’s the formula of how many shots you get. If you look at all the top scorers in the league, they are all the top shooters.
“You look at the 2-on-1 in overtime. He could have very easily been unselfish and tried to make a pass, but I thought he really lined it up and found a way to overpower the goaltender. We’ve wanted him to be more like that. He’s a great option for us offensively.”
Here’s the goal:
With the departure of Stone, Duchene and Dzingel, Crawford has also been emphasizing to Tkachuk the importance of him staying on task, which is being one of the Senators’ top offensive forwards.
“He picks his spots a little better. At the start of the year it was all Brady going after people, it was all Brady being forceful, it was all Brady trying to prove himself. He’s still trying to do that but my belief is he’s picking his spots a little better,” Crawford said.
“With that, he understands how important he is to us, too. It is tough for a 19-year-old kid to have to sit there and say, ‘No, I’m better to stay and keep my focus and not just play with brawn here. I better play intelligently because I’m going to be called upon to play eight minutes in the third period’ the way he was in the last game. Those are the types of maturity things we’re hoping to continue on with Brady.”
To Crawford’s point, Tkachuk is second on the Senators in minor penalties per 60 minutes:

He’s also second in minor penalties drawn per 60 (1.14; Colin White leads at 1.23). He needs to find that sweet spot where he’s antagonizing, but not getting caught.
One thing at a time.

 

[RAFI BOMB]

 

[coladin]

The new King.

 

[Icelevel]

Hey this guy is pretty good

 

[2CHAINZ]

Man he's playing bonus money good.

 

[stempniaksen]

He good.

 

[InTkachukWeTrust]

At 7 minutes fans should cheer “CHUCKY! BOOM BOOM BOOM! CHUCKY! BOOM BOOM BOOM!

 

[Sensinitis]

So many posters should be eating so much crow

20 goals baby! Whatta rookie campaign for the kid.

 

[swiftwin]

12 shots on goal tonight.

what the actual f***

 

[Icelevel]

So many posters should be eating so much crow

20 goals baby! Whatta rookie campaign for the kid.

I still remember like it was yesterday, being so pumped we got to draft him and it felt like everyone around me was moping around wining and complaining about it.
I was like, we got a game changer!! And people were like, we just drafted a third line grinder probably scores 15 goals average. Bla bla bla

 

[Icelevel]

Even if he didn’t improve from where he is now it would be fine. BUT he is only 19 and WILL improve.

Can’t wait to see it

 

[Agent Zuuuub]

No one thought he was a third liner. Most people had his floor as a second liner.

Im liking the extra shooting and how responsive Brady was to adding it to his game. All the best players shoot a lot.

 

[Six Assets]

Will be interesting to see how the later 2018 picks compare to Tkachuk. Hughes will be really good, better skater than Brannstrom but weaker shot.

 

[philb613]

$212 500 bonus for Brady scoring 20 goals. I'm sure Melnyk enjoyed that.

 

[Masked]

$212 500 bonus for Brady scoring 20 goals. I'm sure Melnyk enjoyed that.

Doesn't it count towards the cap next season? Yes, he probably did enjoy that.

 

[OmniSens]

He's gonna be better than anyone coming up in this years draft. You heard it here first!

 

[danielpalfredsson]

Doesn't it count towards the cap next season? Yes, he probably did enjoy that.

It only carries over if we don't have cap space to pay it this season. Which we do, so it won't carry over.

 

[stempniaksen]

Not better than Pat Maroon though.

 

[StoicSensFan]

I can't wait to see Chucky on a line with Brown. Apparently Brown has his most success with hard working wingers, well here's a dude that's going to elevate Brown's compete.

I was upset at the draft thinking they drafted for the family name - I was so wrong.

 

[Alf Silfversson]

I'm really amazed at how much this kid is doing with such poor skating. I mean there was sequence in the neutral zone where his skating would have been subpar in my beer league; weird reaching for pucks, spinning out of control and really bad stop/start stuff. It was terrible. And yet the kid got 12 shots on goal, scored a goal and now has scored 20 goals in an injury-hampered rookie season.

I'm starting to think that if he can improve his skating he could be a top 20 forward in the NHL. Crazy stuff. A really smart player.

 

[bert]

I think that light cross check to Huberdeau as he was scoring may have been my favorite thing he has done all year.