NHL 26’s Keith Tkachuk On ‘Honor’ Of Being Named A Cover Athlete Alongside His Sons, Matthew And Brady Tkachuk

Keith Tkachuk knows his two sons, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, are two great hockey players.

Although Matthew and Brady are just 27 and 25 years old, the Tkachuk’s are already one of the greatest hockey families ever. The 53-year-old Tkachuk is considered one of the best American skaters of all time, being one of four American-born players with at least 500 goals and become just the sixth to notch 1,000 points.

Meanwhile, Matthew is seen as the driving force behind the Florida Panthers’ emergence as a hockey powerhouse, helping mold the franchise while leading them to two Stanley Cup Finals wins. Brady is seen as one of the most physical players on ice, having gone to the All-Star Game three times. He’s one of the top two-way players, consistently ranking in the top 10 in both shots and penalty minutes racked up.

It’s no surprise that all three Tkachuk’s were named cover athletes for NHL 26, the latest iteration in the long-running hockey video game series, with Matthew serving as the main cover star.

“It was quite the honor,” says Tkachuk in a one-on-one interview of being named an NHL 26 cover star. “It’s a funny story – I just left the the rink here in St Louis and saw a bunch of kids, and the first thing they said to me was that is so cool, you get to be on the cover with your sons, Matthew and Brady. These are kids that were probably about 14 years old, 13 years old at a hockey academy, and the first thing they wanted to talk about was the video game.”

The elder Tkachuk last played in the NHL during the 2009-10 season and was previously a cover star of a hockey video game from many generations ago in NHL Breakaway ’98 as a member of the Phoenix Coyotes.

Both of his sons are coming off of stellar seasons, with Matthew leading the Panthers to another Stanley Cup (while playing through injury) and Brady leading the Ottawa Senators to their first playoff appearance in eight years.

He says when it comes to this game, he’s just riding the “coattails” of his sons.

“Just riding the coattails of the boys,” says Tkachuk of his sons. “It’s unbelievable, it really is. Things have happened so quick here. When the boys were growing up, you just want them to be good young men and to see what they’ve been able to do and what they’ve done in the NHL and did now this to be on the cover, it’s incredible. To share it with them, it’s even more special. I’m kind of a throw in.”

Tkachuk says it was a “no-brainer” when he got the call to join his sons on the cover of NHL 26, which was released this past Friday and calls Matthew and Brady “role models” for fans.

“Any time you can share something with your children, it’s a no-brainer,” says Tkachuk. “We do everything together. We’re a close-knit family, I’m proud of them. They are at the age where they still want to see mom and dad and to be involved in this made me feel pretty good about how we raise the kids. I’m so proud of them. They’re role models, and they’ve done such a great job, both on the ice and off the ice. But to do this was really special, and I’m proud of them.”

Keith Tkachuk Says Both Matthew and Brady Tkachuk Are Huge Video Game Players

The elder Tkachuk says that both of his sons were very big video game kids while growing up, with both of them playing the NHL video game series. However, he says Brady was more of a video game kid and is probably better than Matthew in the NHL video game series.

“When Matthew first played in Calgary, I remember him getting up to go to the bathroom, and I was staying with him,” Tkachuk details. “I can see under his door the lights are on – he’s still playing video games at midnight. I’m like, ‘Dude, you got, get to get some rest. You got a game tomorrow.’ So for sure, Brady plays it a lot more — especially with his teammates – and they’re talking on the headset. They love it, they’re still kids at heart. They’re growing up, but they’re still kids at heart.”

Keith Tkachuk On Who He Would Compare Matthew Tkachuk To As A Player

Matthew is one of the top players in the NHL right now and one of the faces of American hockey. The Scottsdale, Arizona-born Tkachuk nearly led Team USA to a victory over Team Canada in the Finals of the 4-Nation Face-off, suffering a torn adductor in the process.

After missing the remainder of the regular season, Tkachuk returned in time for the playoffs, leading the team in points (23), power play goals (five) and ranking second in assists (15).

“Everything’s been happening so fast with him, especially the move to Florida,” says Tkachuk of his son, Matthew. “They’ve had a lot of success on the ice, both with Florida and with obviously USA Hockey. You know how kids are, they look up to guys like Matthew. Matthew and Brady have both done an incredible job off the ice promoting the game, and I’m proud of that. Matthew was pretty excited to tell me that he got the call to do this. Any time you see your kids happy, you’re happy as a parent, and we’re very proud of both of them.”

When asked for a player comparison on his son, Matthew, Keith brings up longtime NHL veteran Corey Perry. Perry is a former Hart Memorial Trophy winner and previously won a Stanley Cup in 2007. However, he’s still an active player to this day and has appeared in five of the past six Stanley Cups.

“I think when Corey Perry was younger, I think he had that same impact where he could score goals and create offense,” says Tkachuk. “But at the same time, play that gritty, skilled style. If you can get a guy like that, that fits different moles of a game and can impact the game in many ways besides scoring, those guys are hard to find.”

The 53-year-old Tkachuk was known as one of the more physical, aggressive players in the NHL. During his tenure with the Coyotes, he became just the fourth player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season.

Although Matthew himself is known for getting into fights – he did so in highlight fashion to start off the 4 Nations Face-Off against Team Canada – it’s Brady that Tkachuk says more so resembles his play style from his career.

“The one thing about Matthew, he knows how to impact the game in different ways,” says Tkachuk. “I would say Brady’s more close to my style. Matthew feels he has very good skill. His sense and his intelligence are really good, and he knows when to impact the game on a physical side, when things aren’t going for him offensively. That’s what separates him from most.

“That whole culture they have in Florida, it’s the same way for everybody — when you see guys like (Aleksander) Barkov running around and hitting guys and (Sam) Reinhart, that just tells you the kind of culture he has and he’s a leader,” Tkachuk says of Panthers culture. “He wants to win. He’ll do whatever it takes to win, and whether it’s on the score sheet or doing something to get the other team going after him instead of Barkov, I think that shows a lot about his character and his leadership.”