Tkachuk brothers with Malinin

Before Team USA takes the ice for its first game of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 this week, forwards Matthew and Brady Tkachuk had to say hi to one of the greats.

The brothers — both representing the United States in this year’s tournament — met up with Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin on Tuesday, just two days after the two-time world champion earned a gold medal with the U.S. figure skating team.

Malinin still has a chance at another gold medal, sitting on top of the leaderboard after Tuesday's short program. He will skate again on Friday in the free skate to determine the final standings for the Olympic medals.

Matthew and Brady start their own quest for gold on Thursday against Team Latvia at Santagiulia Arena (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, SN, CBC).

On Tuesday, they took in the USA-Canada women’s hockey matchup (a 5-0 shutout for the U.S.) — along with other members of the United States men’s team — and met up with legendary rapper Snoop Dogg, who’s serving as honorary captain for Team USA.

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