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

""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.""

""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.""

Brady Tkachuk framed the U.S.-Canada matchup as driven by "hatred" and called Canada the long-time "top dog", saying players see the game as potentially the biggest of their careers. The U.S. men have not beaten Canada in best-on-best competition since the 1996 World Cup, when Keith Tkachuk played. Team USA beat Canada in last year's Four Nations round robin but lost the final in overtime. That tournament included fights involving Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. The U.S. has not won Olympic gold since 1980. NHL participation began in 1998 but missed 2018 and 2022. U.S. hockey growth fuels a "gold-or-bust" mentality.

Read at ESPN.com