Brady Tkachuk

Braeden "Brady" Tkachuk (born September 16, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). Tkachuk was chosen by the Senators as the fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Prior to turning professional, Tkachuk played one season for the Boston University Terriers, earning All-Hockey East Rookie Team honors.

Internationally, Tkachuk has represented the US at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships, 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and the 2024 IIHF World Championship.

Playing career
After playing for the St. Louis AAA Blues U16 and committing to the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP), Tkachuk agreed to play for Boston University (BU) once he had completed two seasons with the NTDP. In his play for the BU Terriers, he scored four goals and ten assists in 19 games as a freshman before making the U.S. under-20 national team for the 2018 World Junior Championships. Nearing the end of the NCAA season, Tkachuk was selected for the Hockey East Rookie Team after ranking fifth on the team in points.

Leading up to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Tkachuk was ranked second overall for North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau. He was eventually drafted fourth overall by the Ottawa Senators. Tkachuk signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Senators on August 13, 2018, forgoing his remaining three years of NCAA eligibility. After participating in the Senators preseason games, Tkachuk was sidelined for the Senators' first two regular season games with a groin injury. He eventually made his NHL debut on October 8 in a 6–3 loss to the Boston Bruins. The following game, on October 10, Tkachuk recorded his first career NHL goal, and first multi-goal game, in a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. He became the fastest Tkachuk to record his first NHL goal, surpassing his brother and father. On October 17, after skating in four games for the Senators, it was announced that Tkachuk had a torn ligament in his leg and was set to be out for a month to recover. Tkachuk eventually returned to the Senators line-up on November 8, 2018, for a game against the Vegas Golden Knights. On March 28, 2019, in a game against the Florida Panthers, Tkachuk tied the Senators' franchise record for most shots on goal in a game with 12. In the same game, he scored his 20th goal of the season to tie Alexandre Daigle for the Senators' record for most goals by a teenage player in a season. Tkachuk finished the 2018–19 season with 22 goals, the second-highest among NHL rookies, behind Elias Pettersson's 28.

Tkachuk was named an alternate captain in the 2020–21 season. Tkachuk was selected to replace the injured Auston Matthews on the Atlantic Division roster for the 2020 NHL All-Star Game on January 22, 2020. He finished the season with 17 goals and 36 points in 56 games and established himself as a pest to opposing teams and a leader to his own.

On October 14, 2021, Tkachuk signed a seven-year, $57.5 million contract with the Senators. 22 days later, on November 5, Tkachuk was named as the tenth captain in Senators franchise history. On November 27, 2021, Tkachuk was bit by Brendan Lemieux of the Los Angeles Kings during a scrum in the corner. Lemieux was assessed a match penalty and was suspended for five games. On December 11, 2021, Tkachuk scored his first NHL hat trick against Brian Elliott in a 4–0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. On April 5, 2022, Tkachuk scored a goal and two assists in a 6–3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.

At the outset of the 2022–23 season, Tkachuk was expected to play on the first line with Josh Norris and Drake Batherson. However, shortly after the season began, Norris suffered a season-ending injury on October 22, 2022. This forced the Senators to shuffle their forwards, placing Tkachuk on a line with Tim Stützle. On December 2, 2022, in Tkachuk's 300th career game, the Senators captain recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick, scoring his 100th and 101st career goals, with the 101st being the game winner in overtime and an assist in a 3–2 overtime win over the New York Rangers. Tkachuk was named to the NHL All-Star Game in Florida, representing Ottawa. He played alongside his brother, Matthew, on the Atlantic Division team. In a February 27, 2023 6–2 win over the Detroit Red Wings, Tkachuk skated over to the Red Wings bench at the end of the second period and challenged the entire Red Wings team. Tkachuk scored a goal in the win, which helped move the Senators closer to a possible playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Towards the end of the season, as the Senators sought to get one of the last playoff spots in the conference, Tkachuk registered a goal and an assist in a March 27 5–2 win over the Florida Panthers, who were also vying for a playoff spot. However, the Senators were eliminated from playoff contention on April 7, 2023 in a 7–2 loss to the Panthers.

International play
Tkachuk was the captain of the gold-winning U.S. under-18 national team at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships.

Tkachuk was selected to the U.S. under-20 national team for the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Buffalo, New York, winning bronze.

Personal life
Tkachuk is the son of former NHL player Keith Tkachuk and was born in Scottsdale, Arizona during his father's tenure with the Phoenix Coyotes. He was raised in the St. Louis suburb of Creve Coeur, Missouri, after his father's 2001 trade to the Blues. His older brother, Matthew, is an alternate captain for the Florida Panthers, and his younger sister, Taryn, is an NCAA Division I field hockey player with the University of Virginia. Both Tkachuk brothers attended the former Oak Hill School at Villa Duchesne and Chaminade College Preparatory School.

Tkachuk is of Ukrainian descent on both his maternal and paternal sides; the surname "Tkachuk" translates to weaver in Ukrainian. He is also of Irish ancestry on his paternal side.

The Tkachuk family has been referred to as one branch of "a giant hockey family tree" and Tkachuk is related to several other current and former NHL players and league industry members through both his father's family, originally from Medford, Massachusetts, and his mother's family, originally from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Tkachuk is a second cousin of former NHL player and current General Manager of the New Jersey Devils, Tom Fitzgerald, as well as a second cousin once-removed to Casey Fitzgerald and Casey's brother, Ryan, who plays in the AHL. He is also a cousin of NHL player Kevin Hayes and his brother, the late Jimmy Hayes. Tkachuk's maternal uncle is NHL player agent Craig Oster, who represents numerous NHL players including Erik Karlsson, Mark Stone and Evgeny Kuznetsov, as well as both Tkachuk and his brother.

Tkachuk married his longtime girlfriend Emma Farinacci in July 2023.