'THE TEAM THAT GELS THE QUICKEST IS GOING TO HAVE THE MOST SUCCESS'

The Tkachuk brothers on continuing a family and national legacy at the Games and growing ice hockey for the next generation

- BY JOE KOZLOWSKI

WINNING STRATEGY

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk in February 2025, at the 4 Nations Face-Off, where future U.S. Olympic squad members familiarized themselves with one another.

IT’S A TALE AS OLD AS TIME. TWO SIBLINGS PLAYING SPORTS IN THE BACKYARD, PRETENDING that they’re teaming up to execute the game-winning play. An imaginary clock counts down and, inevitably, everything works out as the pretend crowd goes wild.

For Brady and Matthew Tkachuk, the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will represent a chance to make that childhood dream a reality. Back in June 2025, they were two of the first six names on the U.S. men’s ice hockey team roster.

It’s hard enough to make the NHL, let alone be part of the elite group that’s chosen to represent the United States on the world stage. Doing it alongside your brother, however, is much more unlikely and, consequently, even more meaningful.

This isn’t the brothers’ first taste of the Olympics. Hockey fans will remember their dad, Keith Tkachuk, who spent nearly two decades in the NHL and suited up for the U.S. Olympic team on four occasions. His sons didn’t experience his silver medal win in 2002, but they did come along for the ride during the 2006 Games, which coincidentally also took place in Northern Italy. “We were too young for the Salt Lake one, but we went to the one in Italy, and it was really, really fun,” Matthew Tkachuk, 28, recalls. “I remembered the highlight for us was going to the [Olympic] Village and walking around and seeing some of the athletes in a bunch of different sports. And my dad did a great job of making sure we got pictures of everybody. So still great, great memories for us.

“I remember taking a picture with [Russian ice hockey players Alexander] Ovechkin and [Evgeni] Malkin when they were like 20 years old. So really, really cool.”