Keith Tkachuk

Keith Tkachuk is an American right winger on the St. Louis Blues.

Tkachuk has become one of the most talented power forwards in the NHL since being drafted by the Winnipeg Jets in 1990. He played a season with Boston University before joining the Jets in 1991-92. Over the next ten seasons with Winnipeg and the Phoenix Coyotes, Tkachuk developed into one of the top caliber players in the NHL. He had his best season of his career in 1995-96, the team’s last season in Winnipeg, when he scored 50 goals and 98 points, along with 156 penalty minutes. The following season, in Phoenix, he was named to the All-star team on the way to finishing with 52 goals, 86 points and 228 penalty minutes.

Tkachuk was traded to St. Louis in 2001 after a number of injury-plagued seasons. He and Paul Kariya are veteran leaders on a young team looking to rebuild slowly, and he became the fourth American player to score 500 goals in the last game of the 2007-08 season. Tkachuk is also the first American player to lead the NHL in goals in 1996-97. Tkachuk spent 18 games with Atlanta after being traded at the deadline in 2007, but he re-signed with the Blues after the playoffs.

Tkachuk has been a regular on Team USA since 1992, when he played in the Winter Olympics. He played at the 1998, 2002 and 2006 Winter Olympics, winning a silver medal in 2002. He won a gold medal at the 1996 World Cup, and also participated at the 2004 World Cup.