Tallackson was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the 2nd round, 53rd overall, on June 22, 2002. In December 2008 the Devil's waived their rights to the forward, just weeks after he underwent surgery to correct an irregular heartbeat associated with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome. He played with the Devil's farm team Lowell Devils where he scored 11 goals and 10 assists prior to being signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Blues on July 22, 2009.