The Tkachuks: Dominating the Ice and the EA Sports NHL 26 Cover
Matthew Tkachuk, star of the Florida Panthers, celebrated his second consecutive Stanley Cup title with a special celebration. By his side, two key figures in his life: his father, Keith Tkachuk, with 18 seasons in the NHL, and his brother Brady Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators. While Keith enjoyed a cigar and lifted the Cup, Brady, with a beer in hand, avoided touching the trophy out of superstition. This celebration added to another memorable moment for the Tkachuks: the cover of the Deluxe edition of EA Sports NHL 26.Alofoke Deportes had the opportunity to talk with Matthew and Brady about their history with video games, the exciting Panthers’ offseason, Brady’s future in Ottawa, Matthew’s health, and the new NHL collective bargaining agreement. Before delving in, both of them, named to the U.S. ice hockey team for the 2026 Winter Olympics, were asked about the quest for Olympic gold.Do you see the possibility of winning Olympic gold in 2026 as a rematch against Canada?MATTHEW TKACHUK: I don’t know if I see it as a rematch, but it’s been a long time since American hockey has been at the top. Canada has dominated the Olympics, the World Cups and even the world championships, although we achieved something this year. They have been the leaders and the team we have all been trying to overcome. I don’t see it as a rematch, but as a demonstration of the progress of American hockey. We’ve had incredible players and national teams that we admire, but who haven’t achieved the goal. Winning gold would not only fulfill our dreams, but also bring a lot of satisfaction to those who paved the way.Brady, you play in a Canadian city while seeking Olympic gold for the United States. How is that dynamic?BRADY TKACHUK: It’s a different situation. The people who support you daily now don’t want you to win. Our childhood dream was to win the Stanley Cup and a gold medal for our country. We started playing hockey inspired by the “Miracle on Ice” of 1980. Now we have the opportunity to pave the way for the next generation of children in the United States, who might not play hockey if they couldn’t experience American hockey in the Winter Olympics and win gold medals.As children, Matthew and I dreamed of playing like our father. His influence on how we play and prepare remains enormous. It’s an honor to be on the cover, and having him by our side makes it even better.
Brady Tkachuk
We not only play for ourselves in that locker room, but for our country and for the next generation. We play for those who paved the way for us, who support us and are excited to watch.
The Tkachuk brothers, along with their father, on the cover of EA Sports NHL 26.
What is your history with video games?MATTHEW TKACHUK: We played a lot. I think during the pandemic was the last time I played regularly, when we were all together before I had my house in St. Louis. Brady and I played a lot. NHL is one of them. I think Brady has played more than me throughout his life, and he was much better than me at it. So I didn’t play against him much. We played as you would expect: we removed the penalties, made all the players very big and fast. It was like NHL with jail rules. It was a lot of fun. BRADY TKACHUK: We had a very religious routine. After school, if the weather was good, we would go out and play roller hockey, then we would have dinner and play NHL. We would try to play a best-of-seven series if it was early, but it was a lot of fun. We played together, or most of the time we played against each other, and it was a lot of fun.Do EA Sports care about ratings now that they’re in the NHL?MATTHEW TKACHUK: We don’t talk about that much. I know there’s a day, maybe at the beginning of the year, where you review your rating or guess another player’s. They get mad when you guess their rating and it’s much lower than the real one. You have to be careful with the sensitive guys on the team, because you don’t want that to affect them. Hockey players are proud. You want to have a decent rating. BRADY TKACHUK: I’m one of those who play with the Sens to see my rating, to see how good my player is. This version is exciting because it’s more individual-based. You can see within the game how I am in real life, and that’s really cool and unique. These ratings are always fun. And to be honest, I don’t know what the rating is for this year’s game. I know they give a mid-season boost, and that’s the goal: that hopefully they give me a mid-season boost because that means I’m playing well.Matthew, you were appointed by the White House to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition. How did you get involved?MATTHEW TKACHUK: I can’t comment on that until it’s official. But I promise that in a few weeks, if it comes true, I’ll answer that question.How was the reaction upon learning that the Florida Panthers managed to retain Sam Bennett, Aaron Ekblad, and Brad Marchand as free agents?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: I don’t know if I was surprised. As a player and, above all, as a friend, you worry that your teammates are leaving. In the end, you want your teammates and friends to be happy with the decision they make. If it’s for a lot of money or to play where they want, you should be happy for them. The best thing about those three is that they believe in what we are doing in Florida. They want to live in Florida, they want to play on a good team, and they want to have a great group of players around them. Of all of them, I was most sure that Ekblad would stay. He’s been a Panther his whole life. I think it was impossible for him to leave. And then the others… they had the opportunity to make money. You didn’t know if it would be with us or not. I was surprised that everyone could stay. I thought that, because of the way the money was, you didn’t know if it would be possible, and somehow it was. Everyone was rewarded very well. Bill did a great job making sure it happened. You want your best friends to be rewarded for how well they played and how well they’ve been doing so far. I think everyone was rewarded very well, and I’m very excited to have the opportunity to try again with them this year.
When did you find out about Marchand? Was it when he was smoking cigars in a golf cart?
MATTHEW TKACHUK: With Marchand, when he was first traded, I thought we would never have the opportunity to keep everyone. Over time, and with success, you get to know the guys and know what their wishes are for the rest of their careers or where they want to live, and you can start to connect the dots. People don’t want to leave Florida when they arrive. I think that’s the case for them and for everyone who has been there. The only time you’ll see the guys leave is if there’s a big difference in money. Some of the ones we’ve had in recent years have gone to other teams, which makes us very happy. I think that’s the only way you’ll see the guys leave. We have something really good right now, and everyone wants to be a part of it.Brady, how was the speculation about your departure from Ottawa for you?BRADY TKACHUK: I think we needed to make the playoffs to show that we are a team capable of that, but also of doing more than just making the playoffs. In recent years, it was a bit stagnant. We had high expectations and didn’t achieve what we needed. And with that came doubt. But I think the steps we took last year showed that we have a great hockey team. I think we are starting to achieve what we want. The playoffs are great, but that’s not our ultimate goal. The sky’s the limit for our group. I think that success helped with all the speculation. When things aren’t going well, people always assume or try to think for me. But I was never in that thought process. It was about moving forward. It’s been a long time, not just for our team but for the city, to get to the playoffs. And I think it was very important for me to end that drought. Through all the adversity we faced, being one of the last five teams, finally making the playoffs was an incredible feeling. But now that we’re here, I think everyone wants a little more and wants to achieve all of our childhood dreams.What do you think about Trevor Zegras’s trade to the Flyers?BRADY TKACHUK: I went to Connecticut to skate with him. I’ve known ‘Z’ for years, but I got to know him pretty well when we played together at the world championships. He’s a great guy, and I think it’ll be great for him to have a fresh start in Philadelphia and with Rick Tocchet. They have a great culture there, and I think he’ll do a good job of adapting. I’ve always thought that, playing against Philadelphia, they play very hard, but they have many great players with skill. So I think that will be best for him. I’m excited to see his progress this year and see how the change affects him. I bet it will be for the better.
