Tkachuck knows the major problem the flames must solve this season

Tkachuck learned a lot in his first NHL campaign and he knows the key to the Calgary's success this season.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Tkachuck knows the major problem the flames must solve this season
KEYSTONE PRESS

Hockey is an unforgiving sport, and the NHL is the most unforgiving place to play it. That's why young Calgary Flames star Matthew Tkachuk knows they can't afford to not catch fire early this season.

The Calgary Flames were swept out of the Playoffs last season in four games by the Anaheim Ducks, but after a slow start it was amazing they made it to the post season at all. Calgary had a 10-13-2 record by the end of November 2016 but would go on to secure a wild card spot for a trip to the post-season.

It looked like Calgary had emptied the tank just to get to the playoffs, and this year Tkachuk doesn't want to be back in that situation again.

Tkachuk was at the annual Smashfest Charity Ping-Pong Challenge on Thursday, and had a lot to say about his rookie season in the NHL as well as his imminent sophomore campaign.

"We all saw what Nashville did last year, you just have to go on a run. Hopefully we can go on a run this year. You can't think about the playoffs already, but for us, we didn't have the start we wanted to last year, so this year we just need a better start. We were a little bit streaky last year, but this year if we play more consistently, we should have a good team and do well.

"You could take some positives and negatives from the season. I think we had a team where we could have gone a little bit deeper than we did, but unfortunately the playoffs weren't exactly how we drew it up. Personally, from making the team and playing in the regular season and getting in the playoffs, you don't really think about anything personally from the season, you just want to be on a winning team, so hopefully I can be a part of that this year.

"You have to be able to bounce back, and I don't know if we bounced back as well as we could have in the playoffs. You expect there to be some extra jump in the playoffs, but you don't realize how every shift, every time single time you touch the puck, there is somebody on you, everybody is backchecking hard. It's crazy how much more intense the playoffs are.

"I've prepared the same for any season every year whether it was with the USA team a couple years ago, the London Knights [of the Ontario Hockey League], the NHL, it doesn't matter,. I just prepare in the summer, slowly start getting on the ice more so I'm hitting my stride when it comes to the first game."

The Flames have been busy this offseason improving the team. They brought in goalie Mike Smith from Arizona and defenseman Travis Hamonic from the Islanders via trades. Tkachuk is just as excited as anyone else about his new teammates:

"I was very, very excited to see those moves. Everybody's been asking me how busy my summer has been but I think our GM (Brad Treliving) has been the most busy on our team. That, along with the guys wanting to come play in Calgary, I think it's a spot you want to come play in right now. Obviously with the guys on our back end and our depth up front and now adding Mike Smith, I think we have a solid team."

Tkachuk is looking to continue playing his hard-hitting brand of hockey this season. The 6'2, 203-lb winger put up 13 goals and 48 points in 76 games last season, along with 105 penalty minutes and a +/- rating of plus-14. The 19-year-old was Calgary's first round pick (6th overall) in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft, and immediately debuted for the Flames last season.

If the Flames can avoid another slow start to the season they can also avoid burning out just trying to get to the playoffs. With an improved back end and a young offensive that has another year of experience under their belt, a little consistency could go a long way to fanning the flames in Calgary.