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Walt Tkaczuk
Canadian ice hockey player

Walt Tkaczuk

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
Canadian ice hockey player
Places
Work field
Gender
Male
Place of birth
Emsdetten
Age
77 years
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Walter Robert Bogdan Tkaczuk (born September 29, 1947) is a Canadian retired ice hockey centre who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers between 1967 and 1981. Tkaczuk's family moved to Timmins, Ontario from West Germany when he was two years old. He was the first German-born player to appear in an NHL game.

NHL career

Tkaczuk centered the "Bulldog Line" with Bill Fairbairn and Dave Balon, who was later replaced by Steve Vickers. He could score his fair share of goals, however he was much better at producing assists. Tkaczuk's finest contribution to the game was that of the defensive forward, being among the NHL's elite shadows and faceoff men. This complemented the Ranger's high-scoring GAG line of Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert, Vic Hadfield. During his first 2 seasons with the Rangers, the club and media pronounced his name, "Taychuk" because Rangers' Director of Player Personnel told him it was easier to say that the correct pronunciation, "Ka-Chook." Prior to the 1969-70 season, the club announced he would henceforth be called by the correct pronunciation

In the 1972 playoffs, with Ratelle sidelined with a broken ankle and Gilbert hampered by injuries, Tkaczuk played a key role as the Rangers defeated the defending champions Montreal Canadiens, and the previous season's finalists Chicago Black Hawks, to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. While the Rangers lost to the Boston Bruins in six games, Tkaczuk earned much respect for holding the Bruins' Phil Esposito without a goal in the series. He was then invited to Team Canada's training camp for the 1972 Summit Series but turned down the invitation (he was replaced by Philadelphia Flyers' center Bobby Clarke)

In the 1979 postseason, Tkaczuk was a key contributor as the Rangers upset the first place New York Islanders to reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell to Montreal in five games.

A serious eye injury ended Tkaczuk's career half way through the 1980-81 season. Tkaczuk played 945 career NHL games, scoring 227 goals and 451 assists for 678 points. Despite his physical presence, he only accumulated 556 minutes in penalties. In 2009, Tkaczuk was ranked No. 14 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).

Post-hockey career

Tkaczuk is co-owner of River Valley Golf Course and Tube Slide in St. Marys, Ontario.

Career statistics

  Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1963–64Kitchener DutchmenCJHL30253762
1963–64Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.2155104
1964–65Kitchener DutchmenCJHL
1964–65Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.71236
1965–66Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.4712314339197233013
1966–67Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.482347708513681423
1966–67Omaha KnightsCPHL32022
1967–68Kitchener RangersOHA-Jr.52375693811917203758
1967–68New York RangersNHL20000
1968–69Buffalo BisonsAHL52799
1968–69New York RangersNHL711224362840116
1969–70New York RangersNHL7627507738621317
1970–71New York RangersNHL77264975481315614
1971–72New York RangersNHL762442666516461035
1972–73New York RangersNHL7627396659107298
1973–74New York RangersNHL71214263581305522
1974–75New York RangersNHL621125363431235
1975–76New York RangersNHL788283656
1976–77New York RangersNHL8012385038
1977–78New York RangersNHL802640663030220
1978–79New York RangersNHL771527423818471110
1979–80New York RangersNHL761225373670112
1980–81New York RangersNHL436222828
NHL totals94522745167855693193251119

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.
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