Matthew Tkachuk, Brother Brady And Their Father Keith Talk NHL 26, Olympics And More

Brady, Matthew and Keith Tkachuk are the first multi-generation family to appear on the cover of an EA Sports NHL game

Courtesy: EA Sports

One year ago, Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes became the first brothers ever to be cover athletes for an EA Sports NHL game, appearing on the deluxe edition of NHL 25. This year, their close family friends Matthew Tkachuk, brother Brady and father Keith followed in their footsteps. They’re on the cover of the deluxe edition of NHL 26 as the fire multi-generational hockey family to be featured.

Today, Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes are the captains of their respective franchises in Ottawa and Vancouver. Before they were top-10 picks in the 2018 NHL draft, they were roommates. Quinn lived with the Tkachuk family while both players skated for the U.S. National Team Development Program.

The bond has endured.

“I was actually with all three of them a couple weeks before we did the shoot,” Brady said. “That’s kind of when I found out, so we were just talking about how awesome of an experience it was, and how easy EA Sports made that shoot for everybody. Two families that have been side-by-side ever since I started playing with Quinn when we were seven years old in a summer tournament. It’s pretty cool to kind of be full circle: to have both the families on the cover is pretty amazing.”

The Tkachuks and the Hugheses will look to add another chapter to their legacy next February, when NHL players return to competition at the Winter Olympics for the first time since 2014.

After their first win at the World Championship since 1933, the United States is going into the tournament as the top nation in the IIHF’s World Rankings, seeking Olympic gold for the first time since the Miracle on Ice in Lake Placid in 1980.

Keith Tkachuk was a key figure in building USA Hockey to its current lofty status. Drafted 19th overall by the original Winnipeg Jets in 1990, Tkachuk prioritized national team service before NHL players were permitted Olympic participation. As a 19-year-old, he centralized with Team USA and skated in Lillehammer in 1992, then made his NHL debut with the Jets after the Games concluded.

“There’s a lot of reasons why I chose hockey, whether it was growing up being from Boston or watching the ‘80 Olympic team with Mike Eruzione win the gold medal,” Keith said. “It was a lot of fun. There’s nothing better than representing your country.”

As an NHL player, Keith suited up for the U.S. at three additional Olympics, starting in Nagano in 1998. On home soil in 2002, he won a silver medal in Salt Lake City, and he made his final appearance in Turin in 2006.

“It’s been a dream of ours to follow in his footsteps,” Matthew said. “I remember going to the last one in Italy — that was so special. This time around, being able to do it with Brady by my side, with my parents and our family that are going to be there watching, this is going to be the most special one yet, with a chance to bring USA a gold medal back. It’s going to be a really exciting time come February.”

If you’re wondering where Matthew and Brady got the urge to cause mayhem when the U.S. met Canada in last February’s infamous three-fights-in-nine-seconds showdown at the 4 Nations Face-Off, let’s just say the apple didn’t fall far from the tree. Nearly 30 years ago, Keith and his teammate Bill Guerin were the prime physical forces as Team USA took no prisoners on the way to an upset win at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

“We had a good group,” Keith said. “We developed a little more toughness than we’d had in the past, so that was a big thing. It was great for hockey, great for USA Hockey. It was this great period — the way the game was played there was back to the old-school days.”

A true power forward who could put the puck in the net and wasn’t afraid to drop the gloves, Keith finished with 1,065 points and 2,219 penalty minutes over his 18-year NHL career. And while Brady regularly lands among the NHL’s penalty-minutes leaders these days and has developed a reputation as a fearsome fighter himself, he marvels at the numbers his dad put up, which included a pair of 50-goal seasons.

“We always think when we get 100 penalty minutes a year, we’re like, ‘Wow, that was a lot,’” said Brady. “But double that. That’s what he did, and still scored 50.”

The last two years, Matthew has accomplished something that his father never did, hoisting the Stanley Cup as a member of the Florida Panthers. And after both brothers dealt with injuries suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off, the champagne in the Cup tasted that much sweeter the second time around.

“What I what I had to go through to even be able to play after missing the last two and a half months, it was really hard for me to work my way back,” Matthew said. “I felt better as it went along, but I wasn’t really practicing. Just being able to get myself healthy enough to play, it was more meaningful to me personally this time around.”

Those issues have left Matthew uncertain about whether he’ll be ready to start the season on time this fall, or if more surgery could be necessary.

“It’s pretty much status quo,” he said “Kind of just using the summer to get better so I can feel better than I did last year.”

Throughout the playoffs, uncertainty loomed about whether the Panthers would be able to find enough cap space to re-sign key contributors including Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett, defensive stalwart Aaron Ekblad and trade-deadline acquisition Brad Marchand, who fit in seamlessly after spending his entire career with the Boston Bruins.

“We were so lucky to be able to get him, so lucky to be able to re-sign all of them. And we have a chance to ultimately go for it again, so that’s all you can ask for,” Matthew said. “I think another underrated pickup was was getting Seth Jones, too. He really stabilized our defense and turned us into one of, if not the best, defensive corps in the league.”

Matthew hoists the Cup on the cover of the standard edition of NHL 26 — the first player to do so since Jonathan Toews of the Chicago Blackhawks on NHL 16.

For Keith, the championships are only a small part of his boys’ legacy.

“I’m so proud of them,” he said. “They’ve set their goals — they wanted to be NHL players. They’ve worked hard. They took two different paths. And obviously, you know, Matthews had a little more success being down in Florida, being to the Stanley Cup three years in a row. We’re a close-knit family — to be able to celebrate that with them, and then seeing them play together at the 4 Nations representing USA was really, really special for my wife and I. And they had a blast. They went to hockey camp back in the day just to be with each other. It’s been a whirlwind, the last few years.”

Keith isn’t the first Tkachuk parent to feature in a campaign with Brady and Matthew. In 2023, the brothers filmed an ad for Hyundai Canada with their mother, Chantal. Appropriately titled ‘Sibling Rivalry,’ it has more than half a million views on YouTube and is bound to strike a chord with most hockey parents.

“I remember that was a long day,” Matthew recalled. “There was a lot of goofing around from Brady and I, so I think we made it hard for them. But, yeah. My mom got her opportunity with that one, and now dad gets his with the EA cover.”

It won’t be long until the next generation of Tkachuks starts to hit the ice. Matthew married his longtime girlfriend, Ellie Connell, in July while Brady married Emma Farinacci in 2023. Their son, Ryder, will celebrate his first birthday on the same day his dad turns 26, Sept. 16.

Should we keep an eye out for another cover featuring three generations of Tkachuks sometime around NHL 50?

“He’s already grabbing the hockey stick upstairs in mini-sticks,” Brady said. “He has no idea how to hold it or what to do with it, but I like how he’s crawling to it already. That makes me happy and fired up.”

For his part, Keith is embracing his grandparent era.

“That kid is the happiest baby,” he said. “He’s just like Brady — Brady was the happiest, easiest baby. We’re having a blast — the kid’s a legend. Matthew and Brady are out; Ryder’s in.”

With features including new ICE-Q 2.0 fueled by NHL Edge official puck and player tracking, NHL 26 features the most true-to-life experience yet, as well as a fully revamped Be A Pro mode. Players who pre-order the Deluxe Edition will receive up to seven days of early access and other perks. The official release for NHL 26 is set for Sept. 12.