Matthew and Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller discussed in a group chat the three fights they ended up getting into in the first nine seconds of Team USA’s win over Canada during the teams’ first matchup in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The Tkachuks’ family members were not privy to their plans, however.
“Nobody knew, and honestly it didn’t even cross our minds that we didn’t tell anybody in our family,” Brady said as the brothers appeared on this week’s “New Heights” podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. “We were debriefing after the game with the fam and of course everybody was so excited.”
The moment they took the ice, though, their All-Star father Keith knew exactly what was coming.
“I guess my dad saw right off the draw Matthew going back with his one glove off, and he tapped my mom and he’s like, ‘You don’t really know what’s coming, but it’s happening,’” Brady said. “She’s like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Then the whistle (blew) and the gloves came off, and I guess she was just — my mom doesn’t really handle it too well. She’s accepted that’s kind of who we are as players, but I think on that stage, she was pretty nervous.”
Keith then told his wife that Brady was going to get into a fight right before it happened.
“I guess for like 15 minutes she couldn’t believe what was going on,” Brady said of his mom. “Our grandma, it’s the same thing. She’s a little nervous but I think she knows how we grew up and how we were roughhousing each other growing up.”
In contrast, Brady’s wife and Matthew’s fiancée weren’t surprised by it, and their sister Taryn “loves” the fighting.
“She was probably giving so many fist pumps and high-fiving everybody,” Brady said.
Matthew was in the penalty box watching his brother fight Canada’s Sam Bennett.
“Watching Brady was legit the most proud I’ve ever been,” Matthew said. “It was so surreal. It was awesome.”
Team USA went on to win the game in Montreal, 3-1, but lost the rematch in the championship game in Boston, falling 3-2 in overtime.
