Photos and Video: Matthew Tkachuk brings the Stanley Cup home to St. Louis
2024 Stanley Cup winner and St. Louis area native Matthew Tkachuk, who plays for the NHL Florida Panthers, brings the coveted NHL championship trophy to St. Louis Children's Hospital on Thursday, July 18, 2024.
Children’s Hospital patient Evan Sisk, 13, from Dexter, Mo., raises the Stanley Cup over his head with the help of NHL player Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday, July 18, 2024. “It’s all about their smile,” said Tkachuk, who was raised in Creve Coeur and returned home to show the spoils of the Florida Panthers’ first-ever championship title to kids at the St. Louis hospital.
EJ Vivier, 12, from south St. Louis County, inspects the Stanley Cup alongside NHL player Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday, July 24, 2024, at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis. "I've dreamt of this day my entire life," Tkachuk said, after returning to his hometown area with the NHL championship trophy.
The names of St. Louis Blues players are etched into the Stanley Cup, seen on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at St. Louis Children's Hospital in St. Louis. "This trophy here is a very magical thing," Tkachuk said, during his appearance in the St. Louis area where he was raised.
Abigail Young, 12, of O'Fallon, Ill., gazes at the Stanley Cup while NHL player Matthew Tkachuk speaks with her on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "They go through stuff that I could never even imagine," Tkachuk said of the patients he was visiting. "Their spirits, their reaction, their smile is what it's all about."
Joe Williams, 9, of Iowa, fist bumps Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "The most important thing is to see how happy they are," Tkachuk said of the patients he was meeting with.
Florida Panthers NHL player Matthew Tkachuk places a patient's doll into the Stanley Cup on Thursday, July 18, 2024, while visiting patients at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "Being able to bring the cup back to St. Louis ... celebrating it with everybody that's got me to where I am right now ... it's been an incredible time," said Tkachuk, who was raised in Creve Coeur.
Matthew Rehkop, 16, of Fredericktown, Mo., hoists the Stanley Cup over his head with help from Florida Panthers player Matthew Tkachuk on Thursday, July 18, 2024, at St. Louis Children's Hospital. "The first time I lifted it, it was just me and my teammates on the ice," Tkachuk said as he visited patients. "This day so far has been so amazing."
Zachary Linhares
Photographer
Tkachuk, who is the son of Blues legend Keith Tkachuk and grew up in St. Louis, won the Cup last month as a member of the Florida Panthers.
