‘This is cool:’ Tkachuk Brothers Together Again on Team USA

Matthew Tkachuk said he and brother Brady have been talking about playing together on the same team for a long time.

They got the chance to team up at the NHL’s 2023 All-Star Game in Sunrise.

Teaming up for Team USA, however, is a little bit different.

OK, a whole lot different.

Matthew Tkachuk was one of the initial six players announced to play for Team USA for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.

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Brady Tkachuk, captain of the Ottawa Senators, was named to the team on Wednesday.

“Definitely excited for international play to start up again,’’ Matthew said last month.

“We know it’s a long shot for us to be teammates at the NHL level, so we’re really looking forward to this.

“We had a blast at the All-Star Game two years ago, got to be teammates for a weekend. This is best-on-best hockey and it excites us both.”

The Tkachuk brothers have not had many opportunities to play together.

The two, separated by about two years, have played in a couple of international tournaments together as youngsters.

Only nothing like this.

This could be a precursor to the 2026 U.S. Olympic team — which would be a completely different level.

As two of the top forwards in the NHL, this probably is not the last time the Tkachuk brothers will be Team USA teammates.

“This is going to be cool. There is nothing like playing for your country,’’ Matthew said. “It really is an honor. We were lucky to be able to do it at the U-17s, U-18s, and U-20s; but this is a whole different deal, a whole different beast.

“Our family is really excited for this and it should be awesome.”