Tkachuk’s run with Senators, U.S. highlighted in ‘FACEOFF: Inside the NHL’ return

Brady Tkachuk is more than Matthew Tkachuk’s little brother. He’s the captain of the Ottawa Senators, a key part of the United States national team and the main character of his own story.

He’s the protagonist in the first episode of the second season of “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL,” the docuseries that launched on Prime Video on Friday. The show takes you inside the Tkachuks’ family dynamic, the U.S.’ effort at the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Senators’ run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season.

It sets up this season, when the U.S. goes for gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and the Senators try to take another step.

The 26-year-old forward said he watched “Road to the NHL Winter Classic” growing up and thought it was “the coolest thing in the world.” Now people can see him behind the scenes.

“I’m excited for everybody to kind of see part of my life,” he said.

Brady is a little less than two years younger than Matthew, and he’s always followed him.

The Tkachuk family shared home movies of the boys’ childhood, including one on the golf course. Big brother does something impressive and receives praise. Little brother is not even a caddy. He’s a groundskeeper.

Matthew won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers in 2023-24; Brady sat in the stands. When the brothers played for the U.S. at 4 Nations, it was the first time Brady had a chance to play playoff-type hockey at the NHL level.

The show invites the audience to dinner with the Tkachuk family the night before the U.S. plays Canada in Montreal on Feb. 15, then into the stands, onto the ice and into the penalty box during the game. Matthew drops the gloves at the opening face-off. Brady does the same three seconds later. That sparks a 3-1 win and makes 4 Nations the biggest story in sports.

“We just wanted to show … how united we were as a group and how we’re going to do whatever it takes to win,” Brady said. “And, of course, being in that enemy territory, that first game just showed that we’re a team and that we’ll have each other’s backs every step of the way.”

Brady said the best part of playing with Matthew was the little moments -- at dinner, in the hotel, in the locker room, on the ice. He saw his brother in a new light. The show gives glimpses of those little moments so fans can see the brothers in a new light too.

“It felt like we were just inseparable for the week and a half, two weeks that we were together, and that just felt like we were kids again,” Brady said. “And that was just so special in the locker room, looking across the room and seeing him and hearing what he has to say, and his Stanley Cup experience of giving it to everybody, just seeing that side of him that I don’t usually see. It was just so cool, and my appreciation for him as a leader just went sky high, even though it was at the highest it could possibly be.”

Brady makes a poignant comment in the show about how he and his brother have different paths. He returns to Ottawa and applies lessons learned at 4 Nations. The Senators clinch a playoff berth for the first time in his seven seasons.

“At the time we started [filming], we were, I think, right outside the playoff spot, and when I had this opportunity, I knew it was just going to be meant to be, and they were going to capture a long-awaited drought being over, and we were going to make the playoffs,” Brady said. “And to capture that ride and the highs and lows of that, I think it was a perfect opportunity to show the hunger, the drive and what it took.”

The show also brings the audience into Brady’s home with his wife, Emma, and their son, Ryder, now 1.

“I think it’s important to show that side, because that’s something that I care the most about,” Brady said. “It was great. It’s kind of funny to see Ryder now and then when he was just a little blob.”

It’ll be a few years before Ryder is allowed to watch the show, though.

“There’s some foul language,” Brady said. “That’s not until he’s older. But maybe [I’ll get] to tell him I was a good player back in the day. Probably at that time he won’t believe me, but we’ll have the documentary to show him that.”

The Senators lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round in six games. By the sixth and final episode of the second season of “FACEOFF,” Brady is back in the stands watching Matthew win the Stanley Cup again.

But who knows where the story goes from here?

In overtime of the 4 Nations championship game, Brady gloved a rebound on a bad angle to the right of the Canada net. He dropped the puck and fired a shot that could have made him a hero, but goalie Jordan Binnington snared it with his glove. Canada went on to win 3-2.

“I mean, it’s just one shot,” Brady said. “That was the difference. We had a couple great looks in overtime that could have been a whole different story.”

Brady will have another opportunity at the Olympics. He and Matthew were among the first six players named to the U.S. roster on June 16. Matthew is recovering from injuries but expected to return before the tournament, which runs from Feb. 11-22.

“Of course, the objective and the goal is to come back with gold medals around our necks, and we know it’s not going to be an easy task,” Brady said. “But I think the things that you cherish the most in life are probably the hardest things to be able to achieve.”

Brady will have another opportunity in Ottawa too. He’d let cameras follow him again.

“Absolutely,” he said. “Yeah, this was an amazing experience, and hopefully there’s many more memories that they’re going to capture.”

NHL.com independent correspondent Callum Fraser contributed to this report