Matthew Tkachuk tackled his college football picks on Saturday.
The Florida Panthers forward joined ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida.
Rocking a Miami Hurricanes T-shirt, Tkachuk told reporter Jess Sims he did his homework for the first time since ninth grade before joining Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, Pat McAfee and Nick Saban at the desk.
Tkachuk is the first NHL player to be the College GameDay celebrity picker.
During the segment, the Panthers star picked John Cena to win WWE’s Wrestlepalooza, Syracuse, his hometown Missouri, Florida State, Oklahoma, TCU, Illinois, Michigan and Utah because he “can’t play in altitude.”
When it came time to pick between the Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes, Tkachuk held up a University of Miami hockey jersey as he chose the “U.”
“It is all Canes, all day, baby,” Tkachuk said.
“What’s up Cats fans, I’m here at GameDay,” the forward said in the video. “We are behind the tent right now where I’m about to go to the desk and make my picks. Incredible day so far, but all roads lead to a Canes victory. It’s all about the ‘U.’”
Tkachuk is not expected to play for the Panthers until at least December because of a lower-body injury. The two-time Stanley Cup winner was limited to 52 regular-season games last season and had 57 points (22 goals, 35 assists). Tkachuk sustained a torn adductor muscle and a sports hernia injury on the same side while playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February but returned for the start of the playoffs.