Sons of St. Louis Blues Hall of Famer Keith Tkachuk will
ST. LOUIS -- Matthew Tkachuk could hardly contain his excitement at two things recently: representing his country and doing so with his brother for the first time.
Tkachuk, a Florida Panthers forward who was back in his hometown of St. Louis this past Thursday, will don the red, white and blue starting on Thursday when he and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk will represent the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal and Boston.
Not on the same line, according to Monday's opening practice in Montreal but together nonetheless.
USA opens tournament play on Thursday against Finland at 7 p.m. (CT).
The eldest Tkachuk spoke last Thursday with two games left on the Panthers schedule at the time, including a matchup against the St. Louis Blues later that night that the focus on the task at hand then was tough knowing what was ahead.
"It's really hard not to look forward to that right now trying to stay in the moment for these last two games," he said. "It's right around the corner and we are so excited for the opportunity. The family is ... I don't know, I just can't even put into words how excited everybody is. Everybody's going to be there in both Montreal and Boston. It's going to be special."
It was a terrific precursor for Matthew because the Panthers closed out their pre-4 Nations Face-Off schedule on Saturday against Brady and the Senators, a game in which the Panthers took 5-1. It allowed the St. Louis brothers the chance to look forward to what's ahead, something they had been discussing as often as possible.
"It's been a lot," Matthew said. "We really haven't seen each other much in person because of the schedule.
"This is my ninth year now and it's the first time representing [USA]. ... For myself playing for the United States, it's such an unbelievable honor. I'm very grateful for the opportunity and I don't take it for granted."
Perhaps when they get selected to represent USA at the Turin Olympics in 2026 will have as much, if not more, meaning because it is the Olympics, this will be the special moment for the Tkachuk brothers because this will be the first time representing their country together. It's not their first time on the same side, but it is on the same side where the competition is meaningful.
"We were lucky at the All-Star Game (2023 in Florida), but that's not real," Matthew said. "Other than that, we've never played together. This is our first time in a competitive environment to be on the same side.
"I know how many people have reached out from St. Louis and Boston where our family is (and) up in Canada where my mom's family is. Everybody is just so excited to see us on the same ice together and on the same team. The fact that it's representing our country wearing the USA colors, that in itself is as big of an honor as you can get and for us to be doing it together, you can't make it up. We're really jacked up for it."
From a personal standpoint, winning this tournament will culminate into probably the greatest year of Matthew Tkachuk's competitive career since he was part of the Panthers' Stanley Cup-winning title just eight months ago. He brought the Cup to St. Louis for his special day, or in his case, day and a half, and still talks about it.
"It was so good to be back," he said. "Seeing friends and family. ... It's always special coming back here and as a champion is pretty cool.
"It was so much fun and one of the highlights of my summer for sure. I really wasn't given that much notice because I was one of the first guys to have it. I think I had a week to plan it all. It was super lucky to get a day and a half with it so I really just tried to cram as much as I could possible into it. I did everything I wanted to and more. All the stops I made were super-meaningful to me. All the people that got to see it, hold it, take pictures with it. They're still talking about it now. It was a really, really, really cool few days. Something that I'll never forget and the pictures still put a huge smile on my face. People still come up to me and talk about what a great few days that was. That's what it's all about."
