Geraldine Tkachuk, known to the family as "Gerry," was part of the entourage of dozens of family and friends who came from all over North America to congregate in South Florida to watch Matthew and his younger brother compete in the festivities. It was, in the words of Matthew, a forward with the Florida Panthers, "chaos."
That didn't stop his 75-year-old grandmother from participating in the family events including a boisterous gathering at a famed Fort Lauderdale Beach watering hole called the Elbo Room Thursday evening.
All in the family.
"She wasn't going to be left behind," Brady,
a forward with the Ottawa Senators
, said. "She's always there. She wants to experience all those special moments with her family.
"You know, she and the entire family have done so much for us, and just to share these special moments with her, with them, was amazing."
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There was no shortage of special moments for the Tkachuk family, to be sure.
Matthew thrilled the home crowd in the final with a goal and an assist for the Atlantic Division in a 7-5 win against the Central Division at FLA Live Arena. This was after the 25-year-old had three goals and two assists in a 10-6 victory against the Metropolitan Division in the semifinal.
When Matthew completed his five-point performance against Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin and their teammates, his father, Keith Tkachuk, could be seen pounding his heart in admiration of the performance of both his sons.
The 50-year-old proud poppa had an illustrious 19-year career in the NHL (1991-2010), with 1,065 points (538 goals, 527 assists) in 1,201 games for the Winnipeg Jets, St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes and Atlanta Thrashers. He said last week that the All-Star Game would be a special occasion because it would be the first time the boys had ever played together on the same team, let alone the same line, in minor hockey, basement mini-stick hockey, any kind of hockey.