What the 4 Nations Face-Off means to the Tkachuk family - ESPN

MONTREAL — Keith Tkachuk would never play favorites with his kids, or the NHL teams for which they now play.

But thanks to the 4 Nations Face-Off — where his sons Matthew and Brady are united for the first time on Team USA instead of adversaries for the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators, respectively — the Tkachuk patriarch simply gets to be a fan. Of country, yes, but mostly of family.

«They're two years apart, so they've never really played before together, and when we heard this [tournament was happening], we were so pumped up,» the elder Tkachuk told ESPN. «They're living their dreams. We just pinch ourselves how lucky we are to be able to watch them play in this. It's the best feeling in the world.»

It's rare enough to see siblings across multiple NHL rosters. Having two in the same lineup for a best-on-best tournament like 4 Nations — an event the likes of which hasn't hosted NHL players in nearly a decade — is more rare. The Tkachuks were always a different breed, though. And it was Keith — during his own 18-year NHL career — planting the seed early with his boys about what a unique experience it is to represent the USA.

Keith himself has done it all in the red, white and blue. He's one of just two U.S.-born skaters who have appeared in four Olympics (with a silver medal win in 2002), two World Cups of Hockey and two World Junior Championships. There's a lifetime's worth of memories for Keith to download with his sons — but now, Matthew and Brady are experiencing it all firsthand.

«They don't need to hear from me how important this is,» he said. «They know how important [wearing the U.S. sweater] is, and then to both be able to do it together on the same team, with the best players in the world, they're really