For USA men's hockey, Tkachuk brothers have been 'a blast' at Olympics

Editor's note: Follow USA vs. Sweden men's hockey live scores and updates from 2026 Winter Olympics.

MILAN — Described by their Olympics coach as beasts on the ice, USA hockey teammates vouch Brady and Matthew Tkachuk are an absolute hoot to be around.

"They're every bit as entertaining as you guys would think," Dylan Larkins said. "They're unbelievable team guys. It's a blast and you got to see it at the Four Nations."

The brothers drew headlines at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025 for each picking a fight with a Canadian player, but they have, wisely, kept away from fisticuffs at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as fighting is illegal in international hockey.

They've limited their hands to handling hockey sticks, with Matthew racking up five assists through three games and Brady coming through with two goals an an assist. Matthew also delivered the verbal dagger of the tournament so far as USA men wrapped up the preliminary round, earning a bye into their quarterfinal Wednesday, Feb. 16 against the winner of Sweden-Latvia. During the 5-1 victory over Germany, Matthew Tkachuk yelled at Germany captain Leon Draisaitl, "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." Tkachuk's Florida Panthers have defeated Draisaitl's Edmonton Oilers in the last two Stanley Cup Finals.

The U.S. men have so far made a point about staying in the athletes village, and having as much fun as possible outside of the games. USA Hockey's social presence has helped show the funny side of the brothers: Take a clip of them being interviewed by Sesame Street's Elmo.

"He snores like a mad man, so I have to get to bed first," Matthew told the iconic character. "But other than that it's been great."

Elmo countered that, "it kind of sounds like Bert and Ernie."

Elmo then took them through a "brother test," asking "who is a cooking monster." Matthew pointed to Brady, but Brady denied that. Both agreed Brady has the better dance moves, that he calls their mom more often than Matthew, and that Brady is the better cook. "Matthew hasn't learned yet," Brady said. "I have to teach him a little bit."

The brothers like to make noise, like to talk, offering a counterbalance to the more quiet captain of the team, Auston Matthews. Matthews has been leading by example so far in the tournament, going to the net to score goals.

"I think it's inspiring," coach Mike Sullivan said. "Players lead different ways. Auston isn't the most vocal guy. (He's a quiet guy by nature, but he leads through his example in the way he plays the game."

The Tkachuks, in turn, have been credited by Sullivan for being "the catalyst for helping us become the team that we had sought to become," at 4 Nations, and are now doing that again on an international stage. Teammates can't get enough of them.

"It's been awesome playing with them," Zach Werenski said. "I've played with Matthew back in the day at the US national team in the world juniors, so I'm familiar with him. And I've become more familiar with Brady the last few years at world championships and Four Nations. They're awesome for the team."

Get our Chasing Gold Olympics newsletter in your inbox for coverage of your favorite Team USA athletes