CATCHING UP WITH KEVIN HAYES
Ostrava, CZ- At the conclusion of the 2023-24 National Hockey League season, his first with the St. Louis Blues, Kevin Hayes noted that the decision to represent the United States of America for the fourth time in international competition took very little thought.
“It’s a great honor to wear the national team’s jersey,” stated Hayes. “I enjoyed the two other times I played in the IIHF World Championship, but I had some unfinished business. I really want to win a gold medal.”
While several players turn down the invitation for various reasons, the Dorchester native accepts immediately. Indeed, Hayes first wore the red, white, and blue all the way back in 2009 when he joined team USA for the Under-18 World Championship in Slovakia.
After that experience, he suited up for Team USA in 2014, alongside his late brother Jimmy, and again in 2017.
“If I get the opportunity to play for the national team, I accept it right away,” he said.
The 2023-24 season proved to be one of adjustment for Hayes. Along with playing in a new city and in a new conference, save his 20-game stint with the Winnipeg Jets in 2019, this past season was the first in five years in which he was not selected as a team captain.
“Last season was a bit different for me,” admitted Hayes, “but that comes with being in the NHL. I took it as a challenge, much like with everything else. I had to learn my new role with the Blues and obviously, we had one goal before the season and came up short, but that motivated us and we’re all really hungry for next season.”
The move to St. Louis, however, came with perks that excited him as he arrived in St. Louis: playing for one of his favorite teams as a child, and getting to better know his cousin, and idol, Keith Tkachuk, who played nine seasons with the Blues.
“I got to know the Tkachuk family very well since I was traded to the Blues and it made the adjustment to St. Louis a lot easier,” he recalled. “We’re cousins, but since they live in St. Louis and I grew up in Boston, I didn’t know them that well growing up. Now that I’m in St. Louis, we’ve become a lot closer.”
The family connection certainly served as another reason to play in Hayes’ third IIHF World Championship, as cousin Brady Tkachuk also played in the tournament.
“It’s awesome to play with Brady,” he said. “I feel like I barely knew him before we left for Slovakia [for Team USA’s pre-tournament matches,] but now that we’re teammates for three-and-a-half weeks, we get to make up for the lost time. It’s great to be teammates with him and get to know him better.”
Although Hayes may be constantly on the move in his ten-plus years of professional hockey, he fondly recalls his formative years at the Devine Memorial Rink in Dorchester and still pays a visit whenever the opportunity arises.
“Dorchester is an amazing place,” he stated. “I’m very proud to have become such a successful player coming out of there and I will never forget my roots. It’s always fun to go back to Devine and see the little kids playing for the Chiefs, and it’s great to see my brothers’ and my jerseys hanging up in the lobby.
“I loved playing for GBL,” he continued. “We had a great team that year and even though we played for different schools, most of the team grew up together and we were excited to play together in the fall. It was a very close team and we all competed hard for each other.”
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