| Grant Tkachuk | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born | September 24, 1968 Lac La Biche, Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 174 lb (79 kg; 12 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing | ||
| Played for | Rochester Americans (AHL) Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) | ||
| NHL Draft | 169th overall, 1987 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 1988–1990 | ||
Grant Tkachuk (born September 24, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres in the ninth round (169th overall) of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. [1]
Canadians are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, several of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being Canadian.
Ice hockey is a contact team sport played on ice, usually in a rink, in which two teams of skaters use their sticks to shoot a vulcanized rubber puck into their opponent's net to score points. The sport is known to be fast-paced and physical, with teams usually consisting of six players each: one goaltender, and five players who skate up and down the ice trying to take the puck and score a goal against the opposing team.
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The team was established in 1970, along with the Vancouver Canucks, when the league expanded to 14 teams. They have played at KeyBank Center since 1996. Prior to that, the Buffalo Sabres played at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium from the start of the franchise in 1970. The Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula, who purchased the club in 2011 from Tom Golisano.
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Tkachuk played major junior hockey with the Saskatoon Blades of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Eastern Conference. On February 9, 1988, Tkachuk christened Saskatchewan Place when during a WHL contest between the Blades and the visiting Brandon Wheat Kings (the arena's first ever event), [2] Tkachuk scored the first ever goal on Saskatchewan Place ice, beating Brandon goalie George Maneluk at 12:35 of the first period. [3] Following the conclusion of the season, Tkachuk was honoured for his outstanding play when he was named to the 1987–88 First All-Star Team.
The Saskatoon Blades are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Eastern Division of the Western Hockey League, formerly the Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL). They are based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, playing at the 15,195-seat SaskTel Centre.
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada. Teams play for the Ed Chynoweth Cup, with the winner moving on to play for the Memorial Cup, Canada's national junior championship. WHL teams have won the Memorial Cup 19 times since the league became eligible to compete for the trophy. Many players have been drafted from WHL teams, and have found success at various levels of professional hockey, including the National Hockey League (NHL).
The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They are members of the Western Hockey League (WHL) since joining the league in the 1967–68 season. Previously, they played in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), with the exception of two seasons in the mid-1960s when they played in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL). The team was a successor to the Brandon Wheat Cities senior team that participated in the 1904 Stanley Cup Challenge, losing to the Ottawa Senators.
Tkachuk began his professional career in 1988 with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League, registering 25 points and 26 penalty minutes in 64 games during his rookie season. He played the 1989–90 season in the International Hockey League (IHL) with the Phoenix Roadrunners, where he scored 40 points and earned 66 penalty minutes in 72 games played.
The 1988–89 AHL season was the 53rd season of the American Hockey League. Fourteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The league abandoned awarding points for an overtime loss. The Sherbrooke Canadiens finished first overall in the regular season. The Adirondack Red Wings won their third Calder Cup championship.
The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned-and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial. The Americans are the fourth-oldest franchise in the AHL, and have the second-longest continuous tenure among AHL teams in their current locations after the Hershey Bears. They celebrated their 60th anniversary in the 2015–16 season.
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the league has an affiliation agreement with one NHL team. When NHL teams do not have an AHL affiliate, players are assigned to AHL teams affiliated with other NHL teams. Twenty-seven AHL teams are located in the United States and the remaining four are in Canada. The league offices are located in Springfield, Massachusetts, and its current president is David Andrews.
