Team USA started a group chat—then dropped the gloves three times in nine seconds against Canada. Now, Brady Tkachuk spills every detail on how it all came together.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was a massive success, and the games between Team USA and Canada will go down in hockey history as some of the most entertaining and thrilling ever. In their first matchup, three fights erupted within the opening nine seconds.
After the game, it was revealed that the Tkachuk brothers, along with J.T. Miller—the three American players involved in the tilts—had been planning the chaos in a group chat.
Brady Tkachuk on the three fights
Over the past few days, Matthew Tkachuk appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, while on Tuesday, Brady Tkachuk joined Spittin’ Chiclets to spill every detail about the group chat. The most surprising revelation? The brothers had been plotting this for months.
“Matt and I were talking, like, if we get this opportunity, how sick would it be to do something? And this was months ago… If we’re both on the same team, in Montreal, how sick would that be?” Brady Tkachuk said on the podcast.
“We were joking about it at first. Then, at the start of the tournament, we got to know Millsy (J.T. Miller), and he was an awesome guy. We’d joke around like, ‘Oh, we gotta do something nuts.’ I mean, this is in Montreal—we’re the villains.”
Tkachuk on the group chat
Brady Tkachuk said the whole thing started as a joke but quickly became serious.
“We go down for a nap—I was just about to fall asleep, and Matthew was too. Then, all of a sudden, our phones pop up. Millsy texts us, ‘Are we serious about starting tonight?’ Because that’s what we’d been joking about—all three of us starting and going right away. I think Matt and I FaceTimed and said, ‘Alright, we gotta keep this going.’”
“I get to the game, and I’m still thinking maybe it’s not going to happen. We’re joking around about it, and then, legit four minutes before we go onto the ice for the anthem, we find out who Canada is starting.”
Once they saw the opposing lineup, they quickly settled on matchups: Matthew would go with Brandon Hagel, Brady had Sam Bennett, and J.T. Miller took on Colton Parayko.
“And then Matthew is like, ‘Alright, I got my guy.’ Then he pulls me aside and says, ‘After you go to the bench, grab Benny, and Millsy’s got Parayko.’ I’m not gonna lie—I was so nervous for Matthew’s fight because it’s center ice. I’m thinking, ‘I can’t have you getting your ass kicked.’”
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