Brady Tkachuk ready to lead Senators, join brother in playoff spotlight

Steve Staios noticed the change early, when Brady Tkachuk arrived at training camp, three days after his 25th birthday, three days after the birth of his first child. This was the same player, the same person, the Ottawa Senators general manager had known the season before. He was also different, a souped-up version of the Brady Tkachuk who had been named the captain of the Senators in 2021-22, at just 22 years old, in his fourth season in the NHL.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why it happened, why Tkachuk came in with a renewed focus, a more mature perspective, a better handle on the emotions that can overwhelm him at times.

But watching his brother win the Stanley Cup back in June, while Brady and the Senators had yet to even make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in his tenure in Ottawa?

Well, that might just have had something to do with it.

“He’s been there to support Matthew and it was good for a couple years,” their father, Keith Tkachuk, said. “But he wants to be able to do that himself and that’s been his goal ever since he was a kid.”

It’s his turn now, too, which has been the plan since he stepped onto the ice to start the season. The Senators made the playoffs, their first time since reaching the Eastern Conference Final in 2017, as the Battle of Ontario between them and the Toronto Maple Leafs begins Sunday at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; SN, CBC, TVAS, ESPN2).

It will be time for Brady Tkachuk to shine.

“He’s continued to mature and his emotional control this year and his maturity and his leadership, I’ve thought it’s a great step forward,” Staios said. “Sometimes when you want something so bad, you push so hard. He’s found this nice balance to be able to come in and compete at a high level and still stay in control, which has been a huge step forward for him.”

This, in so many ways, has been the year of the Tkachuks. Not only is Matthew Tkachuk coming off two straight appearances in the Stanley Cup Final, becoming the first in the family to lift the Stanley Cup last June, but the brothers became the focal point of the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, though their United States team fell in the final to Canada.

And now, for the first time, they each have made the playoffs, with Matthew expected to return from injury for the Florida Panthers when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference First Round, starting Tuesday at Amalie Arena (8:30 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SCRIPPS, ESPN, TVAS2, SN360).

“Of course, 4 Nations was the biggest games that I’ve ever played in, made me always want to play in those big games,” Brady told reporters last week. “For that to happen here after eight long years, to be able to share this with not just my teammates but this whole city, it’s really going to take this whole city to get us to where we want to go and I’m really excited about sharing this opportunity with them.”

It’s thrilling for them all. It also provides something of a conundrum for the Tkachuk family.

But this first round, for now at least, belongs to Brady.

“Brady’s never been there,” Keith said. “Not that we’re choosing one kid over the other, but I think Matthew understands we’re going to have to go support Brady. Because we’ve all supported Matthew every single step of the way, even Brady. So my first priority, our first priority, is to see Brady play.”

It has, after all, been a long road to get to this point, not just with the injury sustained on March 30 that cost Brady eight regular-season games before he played in the season finale Thursday.

Two seasons after Matthew was selected with the No. 6 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft by the Calgary Flames, Brady was taken No. 4 by the Senators. Matthew has made the playoffs in each season of his career, all nine of them with the Calgary and the Panthers, but for Brady, it has been a slog.

“It’s been one of those things in Ottawa where they walked into a situation where they were rebuilding and it probably took a little longer than expected,” Keith said.

They were always on the outside, looking in, a young team, a team with potential, a team that hadn’t quite put it together. Like Brady himself.

Then came 4 Nations.

Under the most pressure, the biggest stakes, he thrived. He scored three goals, tied with Jake Guentzel to lead the U.S. team, while also setting the physical and emotional tone.

“I certainly think the experience for him, not only the way that he played, but certainly the experience of being around all those top caliber players and longtime leaders of their teams and captains, I think really resonated with him,” Staios said.

It was an eye-opening experience.

“I thought it was huge for him to be in that environment, I really did,” said Keith, who got to watch his sons as teammates for the first time. “Matthew is confident as confident can be -- and I mean that in a great way. People might look at it as cocky, but Matthew feels comfortable in those situations.

“Brady, he’s never been in that situation. I’m sure he was hesitant a little bit, but after being around the guys for a few days and getting some games under his belt, I could see a different level of him and I saw a different level of his belief that he can go up against anybody and know that he can be one of those guys that can be a leader for his team.”

It’s that belief, that confidence and assuredness, that has marked some of the starkest differences between the older brother and the younger. But Brady Tkachuk is getting there, day by day, win by win, new challenge by new challenge.

“I just think a combination of everything really helped him, gave him a little more energy and more belief. And Brady needs that,” Keith said. “Matthew can go six games without scoring, that is not going to affect him one way or the other. He believes in himself and sometimes Brady might second-guess himself.

“I think with this run that they’ve been on and putting themselves in this position and in combination with 4 Nations really mentally made him stronger.”

He added, “I’m confident in Brady. Brady needs to be confident in himself. And that’s the biggest thing with Brady.”

That, it seems, is coming.

He’s a player who plays heart-forward, passions and emotions on full display, a player who can be described by his father both as “a caged animal” and “such a lovable kid” nearly in the same breath.

“The toughest part for Brady, I think, is to keep a little bit of emotion inside because he is an absolute menace when he’s on and healthy and playing,” ESPN broadcaster Ray Ferraro said on a conference call. “He’s big and talented. He pulls his team into every fight. There’s nothing that he’s going to back down from.

“Of the Tkachuk brothers, I think he’s most like his dad. It’s like he’s walking through a room and he’s knocking tables over all over the place and the team has no choice but to follow.”

It’s that, but it’s also more nuanced now, with a better understanding of the times and ways and places that can be most effective.

“He’s such a competitive guy and really wants to win that if there was a time in the game or the game wasn’t going our way, he would exert himself on the game and try and probably take on too much on his own,” Staios said. “He wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s been able to channel that into his play. He’s taken that to another level.”

In a season in which it has all seemingly come together for Brady, the Senators are there. Brady Tkachuk is there, in the playoffs, which, as P.K. Subban said, “are tailor-made for Brady Tkachuk and his game and his mentality.”

So what will he find when he takes the ice in the playoffs for the first time, at a packed Scotiabank Arena and at home at Canadian Tire Centre? What might it be like?

“So many emotions rising with both crowds, the home and away, and I think it’s going to be crazy up there to have that opportunity in front of Ottawa fans to finally see this,” said Keith, who played in 89 playoff games in his career. “You’ve got to keep your emotions in check and, at the end of the day, Brady is an emotional player. I look at that as a positive thing.

“This is what he’s dreamed about, an opportunity to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and to win the Stanley Cup.”

NHL.com columnist Nick Cotsonika contributed to this report.