CREVE COEUR, Mo. – Once upon a time, Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk took bus rides, shared classes and worked on school projects together in suburban St. Louis.
A bond that first started as students at Chaminade College Preparatory School has now evolved with Tatum and Tkachuk as champions at the highest level of their sports, both securing their titles just one week apart.
Tatum and the Boston Celtics won the 2024 NBA Finals in five games over the Boston Mavericks. Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers won the 2024 Stanley Cup Final in seven games over the Edmonton Oilers.
The St. Louis region and, more specifically, Chaminade, produced two champions on the big stage in back-to-back weeks.
“A lot of people in the whole Chaminade family were watching,” Tom Fernandez, Chaminade athletic director, said. “Jayson took care of things a lot quicker. Matthew kept us hanging on and hanging on, hanging on. But we were really happy for he and his family for sure.”
Fernandez remembers a young Matthew not playing hockey but wanting to.
“It killed Matthew. I can remember sitting (and) watching a playoff game with Mat and he was a freshman. We were playing and not doing well and just so badly wanted to be out there, but it just wasn’t in the cards for him,” he said.
The Tatum-Tkachuk connection takes on new meaning after a unique discovery helped much of the sports world beyond St. Louis learn about it last year. That’s when a 10-year-old video resurfaced on YouTube showing Tatum and Tkachuk as teenagers in the same high school gym.
It appears the video was part of a school project for Tatum, who used it to explain why he chose to spend his high school years at Chaminade College Preparatory School. He gives credit to the basketball program, then quickly adds, “Another reason why I came to Chaminade is because of great people and great fans.” Four friends join Tatum in the video. One of them is none other than Matthew Tkachuk.
“Great guys,” Tatum said of Tkachuk and his three other friends. In the video, Tatum is speaking into a microphone and Tkachuk is dancing with a tablet in his hands. The video then proceeds with Tatum’s friend Graham sitting down with him for a one-on-one conversation about Chaminade.
Depending on who you ask, locals and loved ones may credit St. Louis and Chaminade for helping the dynamic duo build the discipline and work ethic needed to excel at the highest levels.
“Certainly, their upbringing has a lot to do with that. And when we get a family whose upbringing matches what we’re instilling in the kids as well, I think you have a great deal of success,” Fernandez said. “I think both these guys their backgrounds lent a lot to their success and then we try to hone in on that and compliment it. But when you hear them interviewed, it’s really clear they’re good human beings.”
When they were classmates in the ninth grade, the pair made videos together during their lunch hour and occasionally during PE class. Now, they’re both world-class, championship-winning athletes.
Chaminade has not yet announced if or when Tatum or Tkachuk plan to bring their trophies home this summer.