Latest news with #BradyTkachuk
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jacob Wilson's solo homer (9)
Brady Tkachuk On His Brother's Second Stanley Cup Win: 'Hopefully, the Next Step Is Winning (Olympic) Gold With Him' For the second year in a row, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was in the thick of a Stanley Cup celebration as a proud brother. Brady had said at the end of the season he had planned to follow Matthew's playoff run from afar this year, but as the sting of elimination faded, he obviously had a change of heart and wanted to be there for his brother.
National Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews gets early spot on U.S. Olympic team
The Toronto Maple Leafs 'Captain America' will be part of the United States' bid for an Olympic title. Article content Auston Matthews, denied his chance to win the 4 Nations Face-Off final this past February in a showdown with Canada, was among the six Yanks named to their preliminary roster on Monday for the 2026 Games in Milano-Cortina. Article content Article content At the 4 Nations, Matthews showed little sign of a suspected back injury he played through 2024-25 with and has said he intends to be 100% healthy for whatever comes next season. Article content Article content He'll be joined by the scrappy Tkachuk brothers, Matthew (now competing for a Stanley Cup with Florida) and Brady of the Ottawa Senators. Article content Also revealed were defencemen Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks and Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins, with Vegas star Jack Eichel joining Matthews and the brothers up front. Article content Matthew Tkachuk and McAvoy both were hurt during the 4 Nations tournament, while Brady did join his brother in the penalty box in a notorious rough-and-tumble start to a game against Canada in the round-robin group stage. Article content 'We've seen the unprecedented success of our U.S. teams on the international stage this past season,' American general manager Bill Guerin said of winning the world championship in Sweden last month. 'We need to keep our foot on the gas. Article content 'We haven't won an Olympic gold in men's hockey since 1980 and we're out to change that.' Article content
CNA
4 days ago
- Sport
- CNA
Ice hockey-Matthews headlines US team as NHL stars return to Olympics
NEW YORK :Auston Matthews will lead the American charge at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games next year, as USA Hockey named the first six players to their roster on Monday with NHL stars able to compete on the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014. Players from the top-flight North American league were expected to compete at the 2022 Beijing Games but NHL executives elected not to send players weeks before the Olympics began due to schedule disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Hockey League said it would release its talent this time around, clearing the way for the sport's biggest stars to take the Olympic stage. Matthews, the most prolific scorer in the league since joining in 2016, will ditch his Toronto Maple Leafs blue for the stars and stripes, while Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will play alongside brother Matthew Tkachuk, whose Florida Panthers are one win away from a second straight Stanley Cup. The Vancouver Canucks captain and ruthless defenceman Quinn Hughes was also named to the U.S. first six, along with the Boston Bruins' Charlie McAvoy and the Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel. "We've seen the unprecedented success of our U.S. teams on the international stage this past season and we need to keep our foot on the gas," the U.S. Olympic men's team general manager Bill Guerin said in a statement. "The players we've named today represent excellence. They're committed to the mission in front of us and excited about the opportunity to represent our country in the Olympics." The United States is set to name the rest of the team in early January for the Olympic ice hockey tournament that begins on February 11 in Milan.
Reuters
4 days ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Matthews headlines US team as NHL stars return to Olympics
NEW YORK, June 16 (Reuters) - Auston Matthews will lead the American charge at the Milano-Cortina Winter Games next year, as USA Hockey named the first six players to their roster on Monday with NHL stars able to compete on the Olympic stage for the first time since 2014. Players from the top-flight North American league were expected to compete at the 2022 Beijing Games but NHL executives elected not to send players weeks before the Olympics began due to schedule disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The National Hockey League said it would release its talent this time around, clearing the way for the sport's biggest stars to take the Olympic stage. Matthews, the most prolific scorer in the league since joining in 2016, will ditch his Toronto Maple Leafs blue for the stars and stripes, while Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will play alongside brother Matthew Tkachuk, whose Florida Panthers are one win away from a second straight Stanley Cup. The Vancouver Canucks captain and ruthless defenceman Quinn Hughes was also named to the U.S. first six, along with the Boston Bruins' Charlie McAvoy and the Vegas Golden Knights' Jack Eichel. "We've seen the unprecedented success of our U.S. teams on the international stage this past season and we need to keep our foot on the gas," the U.S. Olympic men's team general manager Bill Guerin said in a statement. "The players we've named today represent excellence. They're committed to the mission in front of us and excited about the opportunity to represent our country in the Olympics." The United States is set to name the rest of the team in early January for the Olympic ice hockey tournament that begins on February 11 in Milan.
New York Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- New York Times
Why USA Hockey didn't name an Olympic goalie, and why the competition could be fierce
USA Hockey on Monday unveiled the first six players on the roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. Notably missing from the initial announcement was a goaltender to accompany brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, star forwards Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel, and defensemen Quinn Hughes and Charlie McAvoy. Advertisement The United States' pool of goalies is so strong that it didn't make sense to name just one to the roster this soon. Considering the pre-determined, arbitrary number of six players that each country was asked to announce, it might have made sense to name a full starting lineup of three forwards, two defensemen and a netminder. But only six of the 12 countries selected a goalie among their first six players. For USA Hockey in particular, there's a lot of evaluating to do in the crease between now and the Dec. 31 deadline to submit the official Olympic roster. Naming one goalie to the roster would've signaled a preferred starter, and that just feels like an unnecessary flag to plant at this time. There's a chance the United States will bring back the same three goalies it took to the 4 Nations Face-Off in February: Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman. Even so, the pecking order between the three isn't established. There's also a chance one of the many talented goalies nipping at their heels could break into the lineup. The country is overflowing with talent in net, from Calgary's rookie sensation Dustin Wolf to Anthony Stolarz and Joey Daccord — and don't forget about Thatcher Demko if he's healthy. Hellebuyck was the clear No. 1 at 4 Nations, and was excellent in the tournament. Since then, he's added a third Vezina Trophy to his mantle and become just the eighth goalie in history to win the Hart Trophy. He's on pace to shatter every record set by American-born goalies, and one would think all of that will be enough to make him the clear-cut starter. Is it, though? While Hellebuyck has added several awards to his resume since 4 Nations, he also added yet another disappointing playoff run. It was the third consecutive year that he posted a save percentage below .900 in the playoffs. Despite playing better in the second round, he ranked last out of 21 goalies this postseason with minus-5.01 goals saved above expected. Advertisement On its own, his poor showing against St. Louis in the first round wouldn't be overly alarming, but at this point, it's a trend that's hard to ignore. Hellebuyck's biggest competition for the starter's spot, Oettinger, also ended his postseason poorly, after being pulled from Game 5 of the Western Conference final, but his overall performance in the playoffs was strong. The Lakeville, Minn., native was an anchor for the Dallas Stars. Over the last three years, only Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky has more playoff wins than Oettinger. His stellar level of play on the NHL's biggest stage has been enough for some to annoint him the new starter for Team USA, but that's far from decided at this point. At the very least, it has opened the door for Oettinger to stake his claim early next season. Minnesota Wild general manager Bill Guerin has that role for the USA Hockey once again. Now-Rangers coach Mike Sullivan will also return as head coach, and while the full coaching staff is still undecided, there's a good chance Los Angeles Kings goalie coach Mike Buckley will be back to work with the goalies. Buckley coached at 4 Nations, and has done some brilliant work alongside Bill Ranford over the last two seasons in Los Angeles. He helped Darcy Kuemper to his first Vezina Trophy nomination at age 35, and coached Cam Talbot to a great season at 36 the year before. That staff will be watching all of the American goalies closely over the first three months of the 2025-26 season to determine which three they'll bring to Italy, and where they'll stand on the depth chart when they arrive. The team expects to hold an Olympic orientation camp in late August, near the end of the NHL offseason, in Plymouth, Mich. According to The Athletic's Michael Russo, Guerin and his staff plan to invite up to 45 Olympic hopefuls. Advertisement That camp certainly will help in their evaluations, but the majority of that work will be done over the first 30 or so games of the regular season, leading up to the Dec. 31 Olympic roster deadline. More so than any other position, the margins in goaltending are slim. This season, Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy with a .925 save percentage. The league average was .900, which means the difference between average and an all-time season is only 2.5 extra saves for every 100 shots faced. That dynamic places an added emphasis on current form when it comes to evaluating goalies, so a hot November and December could be crucial for whoever claims the roster spots. Looking at each netminder's career splits for those months, Hellebuyck has been a faster starter (albeit in a much larger sample). The Olympic format also affords the team more opportunity to start multiple goalies and continue its evaluation into the tournament itself. Unlike 4 Nations, which had only three games to determine a final matchup and in which even a single loss could potentially eliminate a side, the Olympics will have three games to determine seeding, followed by four rounds of elimination games. That means we will almost certainly see at least two goalies take the crease at some point, if not all three. Who will the three be for the United States? Let's examine where each contender stands, and their opportunity to impress moving forward. As mentioned above, Hellebuyck is already one of the most decorated goaltenders of this generation. When it comes to individual awards, he is in rarified air, but the lack of playoff success is a dark cloud hanging over his resume and that won't change before the Olympics. Hellebuyck performed well wearing the red, white and blue at 4 Nations, with a .932 save percentage in three starts, but the crescendo of the tournament featured Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington making several spectacular saves in overtime while Hellebuyck allowed the game-winner shortly after. Advertisement It's highly likely Hellebuyck will be one of the top two goalies, which means he will get starts in the qualifying round at the Olympics. If he plays well in those, he's still the favorite to backstop the United States in the elimination rounds. If anyone can challenge Hellebuyck for the No. 1 spot, it's Oettinger. He has established himself as one of the most reliable workhorses in the NHL with 172 regular-season starts over the last three years. He has also proven to be a big game performer, with three-straight trips to the Western Conference Finals. Oettinger lost his lone start at 4 Nations, but stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced against Sweden. If he comes out of the gates hot to begin the 2025-26 season, there's a real chance he enters the Olympics as the presumed starter. Swayman is fresh off winning a gold medal with Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in Sweden. He was brilliant throughout the tournament, giving up only 12 total goals in seven starts, and capped it off with a 25-save shutout in the gold medal game against Switzerland. It was a much-needed boost for the 26-year-old after a disappointing NHL season with Boston. In his first year as the Bruins' true No. 1, Swayman struggled, as did the entire team in front of him. His .892 save percentage and -6.43 GSAx were both career worsts. It was a perfect storm of new pressures as the starter with a long-term contract and an underperforming team in front of him, but Swayman is still young, and one of the most physically gifted goalies in the league combined, with great anticipation. He will need a good start to 2025-26 to fend off the talented group of goalies right behind him. Wolf had one of the better rookie seasons we've seen in awhile, finishing second in Calder Trophy voting behind Montreal defenseman Lane Hutson. He proved that despite being only 6-feet, his elite quickness and edge work are just as effective in the NHL as they've been at every level he's ever played. Advertisement Wolf's 26.38 goals saved above expected weren't just the seventh-most in the NHL last season, they were the most ever by a rookie goalie since the stat began being tracked in 2007. With a strong start to 2025-26, he would immediately join the conversation about the elite in the league, and could be among the United States' choices for the Olympics. It's easy to forget Demko's name in this conversation, considering his 2024-25 season was defined by the injuries that held him out for most of it. He started only 23 games for Vancouver and didn't look particularly sharp in them, but Demko is only one year removed from finishing second to Hellebuyck for the 2024 Vezina Trophy. When healthy, Demko has a unique combination of size, speed and technical precision that gives him one of the highest ceilings of any goalie on the planet. Will we ever see him at that level again? The Canucks clearly have reservations, signing Kevin Lankinen to a five-year, $22.5 million extension in February. That, along with Demko's status as a pending free agent after 2025-26, give the San Diego native plenty of motivation for a big year. If he returns to form, it'll be hard to argue Demko isn't one of the three best American goalies. In his opportunity to prove himself as a starter, all Stolarz did was lead the NHL with a .926 save percentage. The hulking New Jerseyan was a rock in the Maple Leafs' crease this season, and was having an outstanding postseason before he was knocked out of the second round with an injury. It might not be likely, but if a couple of the goalies above stumble out of the gates and Stolarz holds his form from the past season, he could sneak into the top three. Like with Demko, Stolarz is also entering a contract year, barring an extension from the Maple Leafs this summer. Daccord was born in Boston to a Canadian father and Swiss mother, and a lot has been made of his eligibility to play for each country in international play. According to IIHF rules, he could've chosen to play for Team Canada at this year's World Championships, but Daccord chose to play for Team USA. Advertisement Daccord played three games in that tournament, posting an impressive .919 save percentage and 2.00 goals against average in the limited opportunity behind Swayman. The 28-year-old is unlikely to crack the top three for the Olympics, but he has quietly been outstanding for the Seattle Kraken over the last two seasons. During that span, his 36.16 GSAx rank eighth in the league and second behind only Hellebuyck among Americans. (Photo of Connor Hellebuyck and Jake Oettinger: Jerome Miron / Imagn Images)
