Tkachuk, Tatum Bring Championship Bling to St. Louis Cardinals

A few weeks after Matthew Tkachuk brought the Stanley Cup to his hometown of St. Louis, both he and former classmate Jayson Tatum threw out the ceremonial first pitches before their Cardinals took on the Los Angeles Dodgers at Busch Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Both Tkachuk and Tatum brought some championship trinkets with them as well.

Tatum, who led the Boston Celtics to the 2024 NBA title, brought the Larry O’Brien Trophy to the game.

He did not appear to have the gold medal he won with Team USA at the Paris Games last weekend.

Tkachuk brought his WWE Stanley Cup belt, the one he snared after Game 7 of the Final and has carted around ever since.

The Stanley Cup was not available for Tkachuk to bring to the ballgame since coach Paul Maurice had it in the Windsor, Ontario, area on Sunday.

Aaron Ekblad, Sam Bennett, and Jonah Gadjovich had the Cup previously; Carter Verhaeghe will have it today, with Nick Cousins getting it Tuesday.

Tkachuk and Tatum were classmates at Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis before Tkachuk left school to join the U.S. Developmental team.

Tatum graduated in 2016.

“It has been incredible watching him,’’ Tkachuk said of Tatum during a pregame interview with Bally Sports Midwest.

“We both started in the league around the same time, I may have been a year ahead of him. It has been incredible to follow his journey, his career. I still keep in touch every now and then. We played Boston in the playoffs the past two years and he has been to a few of our playoff games there, and I went to one of his playoff games when we were in Boston this year.’’

St. Louis's own! Matthew Tkachuk and Jayson Tatum enjoy a warm welcome home and throw the ceremonial first pitches together. #STLCards pic.twitter.com/ahLri7ynKa

— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) August 18, 2024

The two were paraded around the ballpark in the back of a pickup truck with their hardware before tossing the first pitches.

This was the second time the Dodgers were part of a Florida Panthers celebration in the past week.

On Thursday, Florida general manager Bill Zito brought the Stanley Cup to Milwaukee’s ballpark before the Brewers’ game against the Dodgers.

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UP NEXT FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• NHL Free Agency: Opened July 1
• Nashville Predators Rookie Showcase: Sept. 13-16
• Florida Panthers Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale: Possible start Sept. 17-19
• Florida Panthers Preseason: Sept. 22-Oct. 5
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Oct. 8 vs. Bruins