Matthew Tkachuk makes A HUGE ANNOUNCEMENT about the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP | The Pat McAfee Show

0:00 Ladies and gentlemen, MATTHEW TKACHUK.

0:04 HOW YOU DOING, PAL?

0:05 What's up, boys?

0:06 How are you guys?

0:06 Good.

0:07 You look fantastic.

0:08 Thank you for joining us.

0:08 What good jawline right now.

0:10 Wow.

0:11 Hey, you look like you're in great shape right now.

0:13 How's the body?

0:13 How's it How is everything in Tkachuk's world right now?

0:17 It's It's body's good.

0:20 I mean, obviously, Pat, we've talked a bunch last year.

0:24 Crazy surgery at the end of the year and didn't

0:25 feel anywhere close to myself until probably right before the Olympics.

0:30 Best thing that happened to me was going over there.

0:32 Playing every every other day, skating every other day.

0:35 Um, kind of keeping like my rhythm going.

0:37 Getting back in like that game shape.

0:39 Getting back in like the just the rhythm of getting

0:41 hit and hitting people and being in competitive games.

0:44 And those games over there were so nuts,

0:46 so competitive that when I came back after the Olympics,

0:49 um, just kind of gained all my confidence back.

0:51 Okay, I love that.

0:53 We're about to go play again, I just learned.

0:54 I don't know how public everything is, if you've made an announcement,

0:56 if you're supposed to make an announcement, if the Florida Panthers know this.

0:59 I've no idea what is known by anybody,

1:01 but the International Ice Hockey Federation has

1:04 a World Championship happening next weekend in Zurich,

1:07 which is in what country?

1:09 Switzerland, Tyrese.

1:10 Yes.

1:10 That is 100% right.

1:11 This is a World Championship that happens every single year.

1:14 Obviously, the Canadians have won a lot of these.

1:16 Gumpy, how many of these types of World Championships has Canada won?

1:20 Around 88 or so.

1:22 Oh, who won last year's IIHF World Championship?

1:26 think we did, unfortunately.

1:28 Oh, the United States of America.

1:30 Oh.

1:30 Oh, yeah.

1:31 Okay, so tell me a little bit about this World

1:32 Championship and is this is obviously an every year event.

1:36 You playing in this feels big to me.

1:38 I know Sidney has played in this, Crosby has

1:40 played in this in the past for Team Canada.

1:41 How can you kind of quantify what's about to happen next week?

1:44 And, uh, what are our chances?

1:45 Are we winning this thing?

1:48 Well, I sure as hell hope so.

1:49 Um, not going over there for a vacation.

1:51 Better Better give ourselves a chance to win.

1:54 But, uh, yeah, I think the best way to describe it is it's an every year thing.

1:58 This is actually my first time going because it's in mid to late May.

2:03 The last few years I've been in playoffs.

2:06 A couple years before that I was up for a contract so I didn't go.

2:08 So there's always like a couple reasons why guys are banged

2:11 up after their NHL season so might not go because of that.

2:14 Guys having kids.

2:15 I mean there's there's so many reasons why but I think it's just

2:19 such an honor to wear the USA jersey and kind of like playing

2:23 for the Olympics and then going here like a few months later like I

2:27 still have that feeling that I had representing back in in February in Milan.

2:32 It's like how could I not want to be a part of that again?

2:35 So I'm really excited to go.

2:37 I'm going a couple days into the tournament.

2:40 I'm going to try to try to bring another championship back to the United States.

2:43 We won for the first time last year.

2:45 I was on the team but USA won.

2:47 I think it was for like the first time in a hundred years.

2:49 So we're hoping to do it again this year.

2:52 First time a hundred years.

2:53 Serious?

2:54 We haven't won We haven't I could be very much

2:56 over exaggerating that but I think it was a long time.

2:59 Yeah, we haven't lost a tournament in a long time it feels like.

3:01 Yeah, it feels like it's just kind of hockey is ours.

3:04 Yeah.

3:05 The only thing we really lost I guess draft lottery.

3:08 Toronto got it.

3:10 No no they paid What what what's junior though?

3:14 What's junior Oh yeah, you got yeah you guys won the WHO championship up there?

3:18 Is that is that what it is?

3:20 We won we won we won the big one.

3:22 We won the big one in February.

3:23 That's all that matters.

3:25 That was like bingo.

3:25 Yeah.

3:27 That's a really good Hey, God bless America.

3:29 Thank you Chuck.

3:30 THANK YOU CHUCKIE.

3:32 HEY TYRUS, thank you too.

3:34 You won A GOLD MEDAL IN THE OLYMPICS.

3:36 You won a gold medal in the Olympics.

3:37 Couple Americans WE GOT HEROES AROUND HERE.

3:39 OKAY, obviously the happening next weekend will be good for hockey.

3:43 Hockey right now seeing massive boost.

3:45 We had Gary Bettman on yesterday to talk about you know this is

3:48 like the most viewed playoffs in nine years or new right whatever it is.

3:51 Everybody's 9 years or new right whatever it is.

3:54 Everybody's watching hockey right now.

3:55 I think the US Olympic team has a huge piece of that both the men and the women

3:59 for everybody falling in love with the sport

4:01 or being reminded why the sport is so spectacular.

4:04 You obviously have been in the Stanley Cup

4:06 the last 3 years winning the last two.

4:08 Now you're kind of watching from a different perspective.

4:11 How have you found yourself watching these games?

4:13 Are you find you find yourself rooting for the East?

4:15 Are you rooting against people?

4:17 How do you kind of view what's happening right

4:18 now with these playoffs who the world is tuning into?

4:23 It's weird.

4:24 Obviously want to be playing.

4:25 I think you just catch yourself rooting against

4:27 a few teams that you just don't like.

4:29 I'm not going to say that on here,

4:30 but I'm just happy a couple of them aren't still playing.

4:32 So that's nice.

4:34 Um but I I don't know.

4:35 It's it's a weird weird feeling.

4:37 It's it's great to see that hockey I mean I saw

4:40 those numbers the same time you guys saw those the other day.

4:42 Like the numbers are through the roof right now.

4:45 So that's so cool that that hockey's such

4:47 a big thing right now in the United States.

4:49 Going back to the Olympics with our team and the women's team winning it just it

4:53 seemed like coming back from Milan like hockey

4:56 was the cool thing here in the United States.

4:58 So um I'm happy to see that it's still trending in the right direction.

5:02 Um playoffs have been unreal so far.

5:04 They've been crazy games a lot of overtimes.

5:07 Uh I just think I know I'm not like allowed to pick um anything,

5:11 but I would say that the winner of Colorado

5:14 and many is got a very very good winning it all.

5:17 Like that's a that's a big boy battle with those two

5:20 teams and and Colorado's playing as good as anybody right now.

5:24 Yeah, I love you saying I know I'm not allowed to pick anything,

5:26 but I just want to let you know

5:27 what I'm seeing over there in Colorado Minnesota.

5:30 I mean at the end of that what was 5-2 uh end of that.

5:33 I mean we're talking about they're laying bodies.

5:35 It reminded me of your guys's coach whenever there

5:38 was a mic dubs released that it was like hey,

5:40 this is seven game series bodies on bodies here down there.

5:44 Like that was actual plan.

5:46 I mean, absolute McKinnon.

5:49 Two of them late.

5:50 That was 5-2.

5:51 That was after Quinn lost an edge, I believe,

5:53 and then got buried in the ice as well.

5:55 It's like very physical brand of hockey.

5:57 A lot of big dogs playing against each other.

5:59 It has been spectacular,

6:01 but the Avalanche have obviously just looked outrageous.

6:03 They're not the only ones though across the entire NHL.

6:05 Go ahead, Con Man.

6:06 Yeah, Chuck.

6:07 The other one on the other side would be Carolina.

6:10 Both those teams being 6-0.

6:12 Now, Carolina has never They don't have the experience, rather,

6:15 that Colorado has with the, you know,

6:17 Stanley Cup final and the win that Colorado has.

6:20 But, what have you seen from Carolina?

6:21 Cuz it feels like this might be the year, you know,

6:24 they get over the hump with with Florida, your team being out.

6:27 That was the one team basically they'd run into and just get absolutely washed.

6:30 But, what do you think about the Nail

6:32 Guns over there for Carolina [laughter] Hurricanes?

6:35 I was actually at one of the games

6:37 in Carolina cuz I went and saw my brother play.

6:39 Um it was game two.

6:41 Of course, the one I go to goes in like at the end of the double overtime.

6:44 So, that was great.

6:45 Um but, I think I think they're a I think they're a really good team.

6:49 They're always in this position every year, so they're doing something right.

6:53 Um they're really fast.

6:55 Uh at home, I noticed like they're they're a team when you go on the road,

7:00 like that first 10 minutes, 5-10 minutes, they are all over you.

7:03 And they have continued that, and that's kind

7:05 of been their bread and butter uh for years.

7:07 So, um home ice has been a big big advantage for them.

7:11 They're playing great.

7:12 The only thing that you know, you obviously don't want to lose ever.

7:16 You don't want to lose a game ever,

7:17 but you almost wonder like some of these teams that have just kind

7:20 of coasted through the first round and starting to go through the second round,

7:23 like you almost need to hit a little adversity to win it all.

7:27 There's no team that's ever gone 16-0, I don't think.

7:30 I mean, I guess one of these two could this year,

7:32 but it's uh at one point they're going to hit adversity.

7:35 Colorado might hit a little adversity at some point,

7:37 but ultimately you're better from that.

7:39 I just think they haven't hit it yet.

7:40 So, it's it's hard to say um which one

7:43 of those teams might be the favorite right now.

7:45 It's It's really tough.

7:46 Certainly a gift you get more days off,

7:47 obviously if you sweep you don't have to play as many games,

7:49 your legs might be fresher, you might have a team.

7:51 But, the curse there is you don't have the moment

7:53 of everybody having to fix the that's wrong because,

7:56 you know, whenever you're winning it's kind

7:57 of a band-aid to cover everything up, you know?

7:59 And then once you lose it's like, "Wait,

8:00 we got to fix some here." And you can also bring the lads together,

8:03 which I think you're a big part of, Chucky.

8:04 I I think you and your brother proved you're big lads guys.

8:08 Big big lads guys.

8:10 Can you tell by watching these teams who's tighter

8:12 or who's not tighter as a group or as a unit

8:14 or should we expect all these guys to be

8:16 a pretty tight bunch at this stage of the NHL playoffs?

8:20 Every team says they're tight, um,

8:23 but you know not every team's exactly what they say.

8:27 Um, I I think I look to Colorado and Minnesota.

8:29 It just seems like two teams that have a ton of fun,

8:32 um, seem to really bond with each other.

8:34 You can tell by like the camaraderie with each other, like during the games,

8:37 talking on the bench, banging the sticks after a block shot or a big hit.

8:41 Um, I don't know.

8:42 Those two teams I also think one team that's like really really been,

8:47 uh, surprised team to a lot of people but not to us.

8:50 Maybe I'll say both of them is Buffalo and Montreal.

8:52 Like those two teams are really really good

8:55 and what I think their advantage is this is

8:57 their first time going through it and their first

9:00 time really making a playoff run so far.

9:02 So, um, th- those two teams look like they're having a ton of fun.

9:05 I watched, uh, the last three or four

9:07 games of the Montreal Tampa series and, uh, Montreal's for real.

9:11 Like they they're a really good team and they they could

9:13 have won that series against Tampa in five games, four games.

9:16 Like they they played really really well.

9:19 Um, so I think that series could be really

9:20 good and going to be a must-watch for me.

9:23 I mean an absolutely nasty goal here from Kirby Dach.

9:26 I mean just absolute filth there.

9:28 They're talking goal of the playoffs right there.

9:30 Probably.

9:31 I mean there's been a lot of good ones.

9:32 There's been some insane skill

9:34 on display obviously throughout the entire playoffs

9:37 and this is where hockey is in prime time and the best players are playing.

9:41 like that seemingly happens every night, even though it makes no sense how.

9:44 You guys have so much incredible talent.

9:46 The other side, you mentioned it there, is the grit and the toughness.

9:49 You guys will actually fight each other.

9:51 You guys will hit each other.

9:52 And you guys will throw your faces in front of objects going

9:55 like a 100 miles an hour and kind of take pride in it.

9:58 Go ahead, Tone.

9:59 Yeah, Chucky, last night the Ducks were up

10:01 2-0 with about 7 minutes LEFT IN THE THIRD.

10:04 NO, NO, NO.

10:04 NO WAY.

10:06 And Mikael Granlund was in front of the net and he

10:08 threw his body in front of the puck to save a goal.

10:11 And obviously, you see that a ton in the playoffs.

10:13 And then the couple nights back,

10:15 Quinn Hughes was getting for getting out of the way of puck.

10:18 People were saying, you know, was he was he worried about, you know,

10:20 screening the goalie and stuff like that or hitting

10:22 off him and going in the goal.

10:23 How do you know when to lay yourself out in front of a rubber missile

10:28 or get out of the way so the goalie can can get in front of it?

10:30 Rubber missile.

10:32 Wow.

10:33 Well, first of all, Quinn's like one of the biggest dogs in the NHL right now,

10:36 so I'm sure he was like tying up with the guy in front

10:39 like he would not get out of the way of a puck.

10:41 He's he's an animal.

10:42 He's he's one of the best and doesn't have to be because

10:44 he's so skilled and so good on the other end of the ice.

10:46 Like he doesn't have to do it, but he does it cuz he's one of the best.

10:50 Um I mean, that Granlund block definitely saved a goal.

10:53 Throwing the foot out there,

10:55 it's a kind of a when you're in that moment and I am not a big block shot.

10:59 [laughter] I'm not.

11:00 But that's like a desperation like throw the foot

11:02 out like that's your last resort right there.

11:05 Like look at him, his body's to the right.

11:06 That's that's unreal.

11:07 That saves a goal.

11:09 Ultimately wins them the game.

11:10 But I think when you're in these games,

11:13 like I just said, I'm not a huge block shot guy.

11:15 I don't think many many people are, but when you're in these games where

11:19 every single play is momentum, you never know.

11:21 Vegas gets that goal, I don't know how much time was left.

11:23 They can get one again and win in overtime.

11:25 Like that that's the little things that add up in these playoff games.

11:27 So doesn't matter who you are.

11:29 Granlund's like one of the the best players on Anaheim, very offensive.

11:33 Like he's a hell of a player.

11:34 He doesn't have to do that.

11:36 But you just have you just do it because

11:38 that's what it takes at this time of year.

11:39 It's the best time of year to play.

11:41 You put everything on the line.

11:43 Um I don't know if anybody's throwing their face

11:44 in front of a a puck on purpose,

11:46 but I mean, if that's what it takes, that's what it takes.

11:49 All right, good.

11:49 So, I'll stop saying it's on purpose then.

11:51 I'll just start saying that it happens and the lads are okay with it.

11:54 Hockey, obviously electrifying and uh the numbers and the people

11:58 that are tuning in in the barns, okay?

12:01 You talked about like Buffalo not knowing and having

12:03 a good time the boys on the ice.

12:05 It's like their fans are having a great time as well.

12:07 boys.

12:08 The Blades boys welcomed in some Montreal Blades boys.

12:11 Yeah.

12:11 The I don't know if you saw the pregame festivities.

12:13 They almost had a a blade hockey game outside.

12:16 And I I I'll tell you,

12:17 I think the Buffalo grit boys will potentially outlast the Montreal lads,

12:21 but nobody wants anything to do with down there

12:24 in Carolina with the lads that Oh, Jarvis' boys.

12:28 Jarvy's boys.

12:29 boys.

12:30 Have you seen these boys from Manitoba that have come down to Carolina?

12:33 These lads right here, they're just known as Jarvy's boys.

12:35 They were cranking the siren the other day.

12:37 [laughter] Cranking the siren out there.

12:39 My my favorite entourage group is the Buffalo blade gang.

12:43 I would take I would put my money on them to beat up everybody.

12:46 Beat up the Montreal guys on Royal Blades.

12:48 Beat up those guys.

12:49 I would take the Buffalo guys [laughter] all day.

12:50 Those guys look Those guys are real deal.

12:53 I like those guys.

12:54 The only American bunch out of the crew that you just mentioned.

12:56 And that's why next weekend at the International

12:59 Ice Hockey Federation's World Championships in Zurich,

13:02 Switzerland, this man will be attempting to go for gold.

13:06 And also, you didn't tell us this.

13:08 We had to do some research while we were on air here.

13:11 Matthew Tkachuk, if you were to win the IIHF World Championship next weekend,

13:18 you'd become one of 31 men in the history of hockey to win the triple gold,

13:23 which is Olympic gold, Stanley Cup, and world championship.

13:27 Okay.

13:27 There's only 30 people that have done it.

13:28 No Americans Damn.

13:30 have ever done it.

13:31 Okay, so there's a chance that you become one of 31 men next weekend.

13:36 I like that you didn't tell us about that.

13:37 We had to look into that.

13:39 Hey, let's go, PAUL.

13:40 COME ON, CHUCKIE.

13:41 LET'S GO, CHUCKIE.

13:42 LET'S GO OVER THERE and do the We can't wait to watch you.

13:45 Like I said, I'm not going over there for a free vacation.

13:48 We're We're going there to do a job

13:49 and and win it and have another great celebration.

13:52 Hey, for the good of America.

13:54 going?

13:55 Good question.

13:55 Uh Brady just had a kid.

13:57 Uh he is not.

13:58 I would I would love if he if he were able to, but he's uh Congrats on the kid.

14:03 Congrats on the kid.

14:03 Congrats on being an uncle.

14:05 Yeah, another Tkachuk.

14:05 I'm in in.

14:06 Uh any names on the team that have been announced?

14:08 Do you know who's going over there yet or is it kind of the roster's fluid?

14:12 I I swear I know nothing really other than that I'm going at some point.

14:17 Um I've been occupied on one if I was going, if I was able to.

14:21 Um so kind of just committed a few days ago and Well,

14:25 I'll find out here more shortly.

14:26 I know a lot of the guys The tournament starts

14:28 on the 15th and I'm going there a couple days after.

14:32 Um So yeah, I'm I'm pumped.

14:34 Like there There's nothing better than playing the best game

14:37 in the world and wearing the red, white, and blue.

14:39 We've talked about it a million times.

14:40 It's just nothing like it.

14:41 So I can't wait.

14:42 Come on.

14:42 Good luck over there.

14:43 We appreciate the hell out of you.

14:44 Going for the triple gold.

14:45 Matthew Tkachuk.

14:46 Yeah.

14:47 Chuckie.