NHL DID YOU KNOW? BRADY TKACHUK EDITION #nhl #ottawa #ottawasenators #tkachuk #nhl25 #arizona #SENS

NHL DID YOU KNOW? BRADY TKACHUK EDITION #nhl #ottawa #ottawasenators #tkachuk #nhl25 #arizona #SENS

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.[2] 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.[3] Nearing the end of the NCAA season, Tkachuk was selected for the Hockey East Rookie Team after ranking fifth on the team in points.[4][5]

Leading up to the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, Tkachuk was ranked second overall for North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[6] 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.[7][8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11] Tkachuk eventually returned to the Senators line-up on November 8, 2018, for a game against the Vegas Golden Knights.[12] 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.[13] Tkachuk finished the 2018–19 season with 22 goals, the second-highest among NHL rookies, behind Elias Pettersson’s 28.[14]

Tkachuk (center) battling for position with Brian Dumoulin of the Seattle Kraken in 2024.
Tkachuk was named an alternate captain in the 2020–21 season.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]

On October 14, 2021, Tkachuk signed a seven-year, $57.5 million contract with the Senators.[18] 22 days later, on November 5, Tkachuk was named as the tenth captain in Senators franchise history.[19] On November 27, 2021, Tkachuk was bit by Brendan Lemieux of the Los Angeles Kings during a scrum in the corner.[20] Lemieux was assessed a match penalty and was suspended for five games.[21] On December 11, 2021, Tkachuk scored his first NHL hat trick against Brian Elliott in a 4–0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.[22] On April 5, 2022, Tkachuk scored a goal and two assists in a 6–3 win over the Montreal Canadiens.[23]

At the outset of the 2022–23 season, Tkachuk was expected to play on the first line with Josh Norris and Drake Batherson.[24] However, shortly after the season began, Norris suffered a season-ending injury on October 22, 2022.[25] This forced the Senators to shuffle their forwards, placing Tkachuk on a line with Tim Stützle.[26] 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.[27] Tkachuk was named to the NHL All-Star Game in Florida, representing Ottawa.