All About Matthew Tkachuk's Private Romance With Ellie Connell

The NHL star got engaged in the spring of 2024, mere weeks before winning the Stanley Cup.
Matthew Tkachuk with his fiancée Ellie connell
Photo: Bruce Bennett | Getty Images
sarah hanlon entertainment and celebrity editor the knot
by
Sarah Hanlon
sarah hanlon entertainment and celebrity editor the knot
Sarah Hanlon
Entertainment & Celebrity Editor
  • Sarah is the Entertainment & Celebrity Editor for The Knot, with special focuses on pop culture and celebrity wedding news.
  • Before joining The Knot Worldwide, Sarah was a contributing writer for Bravo at NBC Universal.
  • Sarah has a degree in journalism and resides in New York City.
Updated Sep 26, 2024

Matthew Tkachuk ended the 2023-2024 hockey season on a high note. Not only did he help the Florida Panthers win the Stanley Cup, he entered the summer off-season as a fiancé. Fans can't help but swoon over the love stories of their favorite NHL players and their wives and girlfriends, and Tkachuk has garnered plenty of buzz. Plus, considering he'll be featured in the upcoming Amazon Prime docuseries FACEOFF: Inside the NHL, sports fanatics are itching to know more about this hockey romance.

So, who is Matthew Tkachuk's wife-to-be? The athlete is engaged to Ellie Connell, and while they tend to keep a low profile in the public eye, we've rounded up everything you need to know about their sweet love story.

  • Matthew Tkachuk is engaged to Ellie Connell. It's unclear how long they've been together, but they made their first public appearance at the 2023 NHL Awards.
  • Per screenshots from her private instagram account, Matthew Tkachuk and Ellie Connell got engaged in April 2024.

In this article:

Who is Matthew Tkachuk's Fiancée, Ellie Connell?

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk is engaged to Ellie Connell. Not much is known about the NHL star's wife-to-be, considering they've never publicly addressed their relationship and she has private social media pages.

According to her professional Instagram account, Connell is a luxury travel advisor with Travel Untethered. She launched her business in January 2024, writing, "I could not be more excited for what is to come! At Travel Untethered we don't just book trips, we provide our clients with exceptionally thoughtful and customized travel experiences. We leverage our personal experiences with our global network of travel partners."

Matthew Tkachuk and Ellie Connell's Relationship Timeline

While it's unclear exactly how and when Matthew Tkachuk and Ellie Connell met, the two have been together since at least 2022. Here's a peek at their relationship timeline.

July 2022: Ellie Connell Appears on Matthew Tkachuk's Instagram Feed

The first sign of Matthew Tkachuk and Ellie Connell's romance came in 2022, when she first appeared on his Instagram feed. The athlete shared a photo dump from a vacation in Greece celebrating his parents' milestone 50th birthdays. In the photos, Tkachuk could be seen with his brother, fellow NHL star Brady Tkachuk, extended family members, and Connell.

June 2023: Matthew Tkachuk and Ellie Connell Attend the NHL Awards

In June 2023, Matthew Tkachuk was named a finalist for the prestigious Hart Memorial Trophy, which honors the most valuable player to his team in the NHL. (He was the third Florida Panthers player in franchise history to be nominated.) In photos posted by the official Panthers X account, Tkachuk and his girlfriend could be seen walking the red carpet together ahead of the presentation.

April 2024: Matthew Tkachuk Proposes to Ellie Connell

Although she has a private account, screenshots from Ellie Connell's Instagram circulated the internet in April 2024, seemingly confirming her engagement to Matthew Tkachuk. In the photos, Tkachuk can be seen proposing on one knee while on a boat in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

June 2024: Ellie Connell Celebrates Matthew Tkachuk's Stanley Cup Win

After a tense Stanley Cup Finals playoff series, in which Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers came from behind and forced a seventh game, Matthew Tkachuk and the Florida Panthers emerged victorious. Connell was at the final matchup proudly supporting her fiancé, and after his team secured the win, she joined him on the ice to help hoist the coveted trophy.

"What an amazing way to cap off the best 4 weeks of my life," Tkachuk captioned a post a month after the finals. In the photo dump, he and Connell can be seen holding the gold hardware in front of a horse. " The Stanley Cup 🏆 is a magical thing and celebrating it with family and friends is what it's all about! Thankful for everything and everyone who made my time with the cup in both Florida and St. Louis unforgettable!"

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