Brady Tkachuk on U.S.-Canada rivalry: 'There's hatred there' - ESPN

MILAN — On the eve of the Olympic gold medal game, Brady Tkachuk said for the U.S. to win its ultimate goal, his teammates will have to take down Canada, the team they both envy and despise.

«There's hatred there,» Tkachuk told ESPN. «I mean, they've been the top dog. They've been the best for the last bunch of years, and for us, we want to be in that position, be the best. So it's going to be a game where I think a lot of guys could say, this is the biggest game that they've ever played in.»

The U.S. men have not defeated Canada in a best-on-best competition since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, featuring Tkachuk's father, Keith. That was before many U.S. players, including both Tkachuk brothers, were born. While Team USA defeated Canada in last year's 4 Nations round-robin stage — a memorable game at Montreal's Bell Centre, where Tkachuk and his brother Matthew staged three fights in nine seconds after the opening whistle — the Canadians won the final 2-1 in overtime.

«I mean, we were one shot away last year, and sometimes you got to go through that adversity, that sadness, those tough times for the good times to feel even better,» Brady Tkachuk said. «It was definitely a tough couple days, couple weeks, months after that game. And I know I don't want to feel like that ever again.»

Tkachuk and teammates have not shied away from what's at stake, repeating a mantra of «gold or bust» in the months leading up to the tournament. The U.S. men have not won Olympic gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice. NHL players began participating in the Olympics in 1998 — but missed out on the 2018 and 2022 Games. Hockey has grown immensely in the United States in that span, and Team USA players are eager to prove it on the international