Keith Tkachuk opens his Hall of Fame speech with a Toronto joke
The former Blues forward thanked the scout who helped bring him to Winnipeg and the people who shaped his NHL career.
Keith Tkachuk began his Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech in Toronto on Monday by poking fun at his own surname. “Wow, this might be the first time a Tkachuk has ever received a warm welcome in Toronto,” he said, according to NHL.com.
Tkachuk used the 10-minute speech to thank people from each stop in his career. He credited Winnipeg scout Joe Yannetti with backing him after he broke his ankle in his draft year. The Jets selected him 19th overall in 1990.
He thanked Jack Parker, his coach at Boston University, and recalled how linemate Craig Janney helped him reach 50 goals twice. He also joked about former St. Louis Blues executive Larry Pleau, who acquired him from Phoenix in 2001, later traded him to Atlanta and brought him back to St. Louis.
Tkachuk thanked his parents and his wife, Chantel, before returning to his opening joke. Beneath the wisecrack, he said, was gratitude for how hockey had welcomed him throughout his life.
