Seven years after being drafted, Brady Tkachuk is one of the most beloved players in Ottawa Senators history. In 2025, the love for Tkachuk grew more with leading the Senators back to the playoffs for the first time in eight years.
The chants of "Brady" have never been louder in Ottawa for the captain. Despite being a captain for an NHL team in Canada, Tkachuk's roots are in the United States.
Born in Arizona, Tkachuk grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Tkachuk followed his hockey dreams and was the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. As America celebrates July 4th today, it's time to go back in Tkachuk's history with representing his country.
Tkachuk's Team USA career has been solid
It all started back in 2017 for Tkachuk representing Team USA at the IIHF U18 World Championship. With Tkachuk as Team USA captain, gold was won after defeating Finland by a final of 4-2. Tkachuk recorded seven points in seven games for Team USA.
In 2018, Tkachuk and Team USA won bronze at the World Junior Championship after a 9-3 win against Czech Republic. This time, Tkachuk wasn't the captain. Tkachuk recorded nine points in seven games during the World Junior Championship.
After 2018, Tkachuk wouldn't be able to represent his country until 2024 at the IIHF World Championship. Tkachuk would be Team USA's captain for the championship. Although Team USA didn't take home a medal in 2024, Tkachuk was dominate with recording 13 points in eight games for his country.
2025 was when Tkachuk got the attention of the hockey world with representing Team USA at the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off this past February. In three of Team USA's four total games, Tkachuk made a huge impact.
In Team USA's first game against Finland, Tkachuk scored Team USA's first goal of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Tkachuk helped led Team USA to a win over Finland, but the next game against Canada is where fireworks went off.
With the hated rivalry between Team USA and Canada, something was going to give at an electric Bell Centre on a Saturday night in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. After Tkachuk's brother Matthew got into a fight with Canada's Brandon Hagel two seconds into the game, Tkachuk would raise the stakes for the game.
One second after his brother's fight, Tkachuk then got into a fight with Canada's Sam Bennett and took him down to the ice. To say the Bell Centre was in a frenzy would be an understatement.
THIS IS MADNESS 🤯
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 16, 2025
BRADY TKACHUK AND SAM BENNETT GO AT IT 😤 pic.twitter.com/GsBLjQONgs
Tkachuk had a scare in Team USA's next game against Sweden when he crashed into the net. However, Tkachuk would play in the championship game against Canada.
Unfortunately for Tkachuk, Team USA fell to Canada in overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. Tkachuk was still productive for Team USA with scoring a goal in the game.
Tkachuk's Team USA career has been solid, and it can grow more in 2026 with Tkachuk representing Team USA at the Olympics. Tkachuk was one of the first six players announced for Team USA's roster along with his brother Matthew.
With recent success in 2025, Tkachuk can have a case to be captain over Auston Matthews, who was Team USA's captain for the 4 Nations Face-Off.