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Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and NBA star Jayson Tatum reunited to recreate a special childhood memory. The two athletes, who grew up together in St. Louis, met at Sunday's game between the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Dodgers.
They brought along their former classmate Jacob B. to recreate a photo taken years back on a school bus. In the original picture, Tkachuk leaned on Tatum's shoulders, with Jacob wearing glasses in the backseat.
Tkachuk later joined the U.S. National Development Team, while Tatum continued his basketball career. Now, in 2024, both have reached major milestones. Tatum led the Celtics to an NBA championship, and Tkachuk won the Stanley Cup with the Panthers.
NHL fans started reacting to the photo recreation on X (formerly Twitter).
"Brings back all the feels! 💖," a fan said.
"Dude in the back just happy to be there," a fan said about Jacob.
"Seeing these guys reconnect and recreate that moment is pretty cool. It's always nice to see people remember where they came from and who they shared those early experiences with," a fan said.
A fan was surprised to see Jacob B. with Tkachuk and Tatum.
"Even got the guy in the back lol," another fan said.
"Though this is awesome, it would've been better if they also brought the NBA championship and Stanley Cup," a fan replied.
"Cardinals were relevant when they were both kids," one fan wrote.
Jayson Tatum's YouTube debut with old friend Matthew Tkachuk
In May 2023, a decade-old video of Jayson Tatum and Matthew Tkachuk from their high school days at Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis went viral.
The video, titled "J TATUM MOVIE," was uploaded on Tatum's YouTube channel on April 10, 2013. It was part of a school program where Tatum explained why he chose Chaminade, crediting the basketball program, great people, and supportive fans.
In the video, Tkachuk is seen dancing with a laptop on his lap while Tatum speaks on a microphone wearing a blue Kansas hoodie. He called Tkachuk and their friends "great guys."
At the time, both were in the 9th grade.
