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2012 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 'BIG WALT'S' Wild Ride I 18 BY HARRY THOMPSON t's hard to imagine that a man who is one of only four American-born NHL players to score 500 goals, has been inducted into one Hall of Fame and is on a short waiting list for another may have missed his true calling in hockey. But when you consider what Keith Tkachuk has done in such a short amount of time as a youth hockey coach, you start to wonder if he should've made the move behind the bench just a little bit sooner. In two seasons since he hung up his com- petitive skates, Tkachuk has taken two dif- ferent St. Louis-based youth teams to the USA Hockey National Championships, making it to the semifinals in 2011 and coming within a goal of capturing youth hockey's Holy Grail this season. Yet throughout the hockey world as "Big Walt" keeps it all in perspective as he looks to pass along a lifetime's worth of hockey knowledge to the next generation. "I feel like I owe it to the game of through it all, the man known hockey to try to help out kids," said Tkachuk, who played 19 NHL seasons. "Fortunately, my kids love to play hockey and actually like having me on the bench." The fact that St. Louis youth hockey is making big noise on the national stage should come as no surprise. With the strong support of the St. Louis Blues, a dedicated youth hockey infrastructure and a passionate group of Blues alumni who still call the Gateway City home, it adds up to a winning combination. "It's pretty cool to see that hockey in Missouri is doing really well. I never would have thought, 20 years ago, that a team from Missouri would be that good," said Tkachuk, who spent nine seasons in St. Louis after beginning his career with the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise. "I remember watching Al MacInnis when I played with him. He had kids, and I remember how excited he was to be coaching them. I learned a lot from him, and he learned a lot from Basil McRae and the other alumni who put in a lot of time JUNE/JULY.2012 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM After 19 seasons in the NHL, Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk is passing on his considerable hockey knowledge to the next generation of players in St. Louis, including his 14-year-old son, Matthew. Former NHL And Olympic Star Keith Tkachuk Is Giving Back To The Game In A Big Way to help develop the program. "That's the key, having guys who know the game and are willing to put the time in. I'm just fortunate that my boys like playing and that I can help out coaching." That's evident by the performance Tkachuk-led Nationals. One year after leading his younger son Braeden's team to the semifi- nals at the Tier I 12 & Under tournament in Hackensack, N.J., Tkachuk was back at it this year. teams have enjoyed at Facing a tough draw at this year's Tier I 14 & Under tournament in Amherst, N.Y., the Blues lost two of its three pre- liminary-round games and squeaked into the quarterfinals against a tough Long Island Gulls team. In what could easily be described as the game of the tournament, the Blues and Gulls waged a back-and-forth battle that featured a last-second Gulls goal by Nolan Aibel, and a miraculous overtime save by Blues goaltender Luke Opilka. "It'll definitely put some gray hairs on PHOTOS BY Steve DeMeo (2) ; Getty Images (2); Carmo Photography