CALGARY, Alberta — At 19 years old, Matt Tkachuk is already one of the NHL’s most fiery combatants.
As a rookie last season, the Calgary Flames forward amassed 105 penalty minutes, was suspended two games, threw his body around with abandonment and got under opposing skin by running his mouth and flopping on occasion.
Luke Kunin knows he’s very likely to see that competitive version of his best friend Saturday night when the Wild rookie takes on Tkachuk and the Flames on Hockey Night in Canada.
“I do think we have similar parts of our game,” said Kunin, the former University of Wisconsin and USA Hockey captain who will play his third NHL game on a line with Marcus Foligno and Eric Staal.