Panthers’ Matthew Tkachuk seems on ‘The Tonight Present’ to speak 4 Nations, Olympics

The 4 Nations Face-Off event did loads to develop the sport of hockey. It reached 10.7 million Canadians on Sportsnet and set an ESPN hockey viewership report in america.

4 days after the ultimate and the event remains to be shifting the sport ahead — a reality evidenced by Florida Panthers ahead Matthew Tkachuk showing on The Tonight Present on Monday night.

Tkachuk joined host Jimmy Fallon on the late-night broadcast to speak in regards to the 4 Nations event, the Olympics and the Panthers’ Stanley Cup victory.

However to handle the elephant within the room, what about that harm?

“Feeling higher, simply recovering proper now,” Tkachuk instructed Fallon. “However the final two weeks, representing my nation, was one thing that I will always remember.”

Tkachuk suffered an undisclosed harm on the 4 Nations that the Panthers fear may preserve him out long-term. However to listen to Tkachuk inform it, it was worthwhile to signify USA Hockey alongside his brother and play the sport on the most important stage.

“We have performed within the All-Star recreation collectively, however that is faux,” Tkachuk joked when speaking about his brother Brady. “It was our first-ever alternative. We grew up at all times competing towards one another and dreaming about it, finally at some point…

“We at all times had the desires of enjoying with one another, and it lastly got here true.”

The Tkachuk brothers, already well-known across the NHL, made fairly the title for themselves outdoors the hockey world as video of the notorious trio of fights to start out the People’ round-robin recreation towards Canada went viral.

“We by no means had the chance [to play best-on-best international games], and so myself and all the blokes that have been on this have been simply so jacked up for it, and I feel that is why you noticed the fights all originally towards Canada,” he stated, earlier than acknowledging that father Keith Tkachuk was in all probability proud watching his two sons fired up on the ice.

Tkachuk additionally spoke on how particular it was to see his father get emotional at his Stanley Cup win, one thing the elder Tkachuk was by no means capable of accomplish regardless of his storied profession.

“[Keith] performed 19 years and was top-of-the-line gamers of all time, top-of-the-line People of all time and he sadly by no means bought the possibility to win the Cup,” Tkachuk stated. “I do not suppose he would change a factor, to see considered one of his boys carry that trophy.

“One of many coolest moments I had was after that, on the ice, having my entire household with me and, I do not know, I had the Cup in my arms for some motive. This was after all of the celebrating and I bought handy it to him and it was one of the crucial particular moments of my life.”

Keith might not have lifted Lord Stanley’s Cup, however he did spend his justifiable share of time representing the U.S. on the worldwide stage, together with incomes silver on the 2002 Salt Lake Metropolis Winter Olympics. Matthew and Brady will seemingly observe of their father’s footsteps and get again on the worldwide stage when NHL gamers return to the Olympics subsequent yr in Milan — the place Matthew hopes they will win gold for the primary time since 1980.

“I really consider in our crew, and we bought so shut with this event and subsequent yr as being an opportunity at redemption. However I really consider in our probabilities and, like I stated, carrying the USA crest, there’s nothing prefer it and now we have a lot pleasure in it. We’ll be able to go.”