Calgary Flames: Three stars of the 2017-18 season

Third Star: Matthew Tkachuk

Sophomore slump who?

The Calgary Flames pest has been making his name known around the league. Albeit, not for great reasons, but it’s fun having every player hate him. Now I know how Boston Bruins fans feel about Brad Marchand.

This season, Matthew Tkachuk had career highs in goals (24) and points (49) while still playing eight fewer games than he did last season. He was also third in team scoring and tied for second with Johnny Gaudreau for his goals, but played in two fewer games than Gaudreau. He’s really established himself as a dependable two-way player being on that 3M line who also isn’t afraid to get into scrums. Basically almost exactly like his dad.

But even when he doesn’t get points, it’s clear that he battles hard every game.

Related Story: Is Matthew Tkachuk the next Flames captain?

I don’t think I can even think about one game this season where he had an off-game. There are star players who are important to the team, like Johnny Gaudreau and Mark Giordano, who can sometimes have an off-game. But I can’t recall the same for Tkachuk.

He battles hard every game and has such good hockey IQ. He goes to the net when he needs to, he always knows where to be on the ice, and he’s great at finding the puck in the air. Place Tkachuk in front of the net and he’ll deflect those pucks in for you.

This season, he was a pivotal player on the powerplay, leading the team in PP goals with 10. In just his second season with the Calgary Flames, it’s already quite clear that he’s an important piece in the Flames’ future. Some people want him to have an ‘A’ on his jersey already for the way he battles every game.

For all these reasons, he gets our third star of the season.