He played junior hockey for the Winnipeg Rangers and the Winnipeg Monarchs. He turned pro with the New York Rovers in 1942-43 and also was called up for a single game that season for the New York Rangers. In 1943-44 he played for the Cornwallis Navy senior team in Nova Scotia. He then spent a year in the Canadian military in World War II. After the war Tatchell played senior hockey for the Nelson Maple Leafs and the Kimberley Dynamiters of the Western International Hockey League until he retired in 1954.