Cover Story: All Fun and Games

East Alton, Illinois – The Tkachuk brothers had a simple house rule when they were playing EA Sports NHL games growing up.

Even though Matthew was two years older than Brady, his younger sibling was the more dominant video game player.

And so, one crucial gameplay rule was altered accordingly.

“He was always better than me and so he would have to go the bad way,” laughs Matthew. “It’s way easier going up than down, so Brady had to play going down at least two of the periods – if not the whole game.”

Matthew estimates Brady would beat him “nine times out of every 10 times we played.” And his brother wasn’t the only future NHL star that Brady would decimate in the video game.

“I would slap Quinn Hughes when we were in the U.S. development program together,” says Brady. “We played it all the time growing up. I played it religiously until I was in college.”

But on the rare occasion when Matthew would get the upper hand on Brady, the younger sibling had a hard time containing his emotions.

Brady recalls one instance where he lost to his brother in a game of EA Sports NHL and he took his frustration out on the Xbox console.

“I slammed our Xbox and broke it. I remember thinking, ‘Why would I do that?’” says Brady. “I think I was sick of fighting (Matthew). I wanted to lose my anger on something else. It was a dumb decision.”

Although their father Keith doesn’t recall that particular incident, he has no doubt that it actually occurred.

“Brady was probably trying to smash Matthew,” Keith says with a grin. “Brady would chase Matthew all over the house. Matthew would run upstairs to make sure Brady didn’t attack him.”

The three Tkachuks – Keith, Matthew and Brady – were recently together for several hours inside a suburban St. Louis arena to film various elements for the release of EA Sports NHL ’26.

The trio will appear together on the cover for the deluxe edition of the game, which is meaningful considering the family connection to the iconic video game.

“They grew up playing these games, so to be on the cover is pretty special,” said Keith. “To be a part of it with those two was a thrill.”

“It’s so cool,” adds Brady. “I think back to when I was nine or 10. I grew up playing this game and now to be on it for the next generation, that’s pretty awesome. Matthew and I think about it as an opportunity to grow the game and put it in a better spot than it was. If we can attract new fans and a new population of fans, we’re leaving hockey in a better place than we found it. I think that’s influential to have kids look up to us as role models and for them to be proud to have us as role models.”

Brady recalls EA Sports NHL ’09 being the game that he played the most growing up. While their dad Keith was in that edition of the game – playing for the St. Louis Blues – the brothers would often bypass the standard settings to create their own players and teams.

“We would make custom teams. Five guys and a goalie. No line changes allowed,” recalls Brady. “And we would make each guy like six-foot-nine and 275 pounds. And they could fly.”

“We would play with no penalties and it would be a gong show,” chuckles Matthew.

As part of the promotional shoot EA Sports NHL ‘26, Brady spent several hours on the ice in his full Senators jersey and equipment, completing various video tasks in front of multiple cameras, producers and technicians. By far his favourite duty was skating up to the camera and delivering the line, ‘EA Sports – it’s in the game’ – the iconic catchphrase that has been mimicked by kids for more than three decades.

“It was a lifelong dream to say that with a deep voice,” says Brady. “I was so fired up to be able to say it. When I was a kid having a sleepover, we’d put on NHL and it was always, ‘EA Sports – it’s in the game.’”

During a poignant moment in the promotional shoot, all three Tkachuk men were standing on the ice wearing their jerseys and facing a giant video screen, which played a montage of home movies and clips from when Matthew and Brady were growing up. There was footage of the boys playing minor hockey and horsing around inside the St. Louis Blues dressing room.

“That was emotional,” admitted Keith. “I wish I could turn back the clock and go back to when they were kids.”

“It was cool. There was some good footage of us as kids,” Brady says of the childhood video montage. “That’s what makes it special for this cover. There are two generations of Tkachuks and two generations of hockey that people can embrace. With how different the two generations are, we’re able to glue it together with our family. We’re privileged and honour to be on the cover.”

Even though Keith has a Hall of Fame resume of his own – with 538 goals and 1,065 points in a brilliant 18-year NHL career – he believes he’s an afterthought on the cover with his sons. Both Matthew and Brady’s stature skyrocketed after the 4 Nations tournament in February in which the brothers took centre stage in hockey’s most intense best-on-best tournament in years.

“I was a throw in here,” laughs Keith. “To be part of it with those two was a thrill.”

“I don’t think he’s a throw in whatsoever. If it wasn’t for him, we wouldn’t be in this position,” responds Brady. “He knocks it out of the park every time he does stuff.”

Brady says being on the cover of EA Sports NHL ’26 should give him a little added credibility inside the Senators dressing room this fall. He points out that he can tell Claude Giroux – who was on the cover of EA Sports NHL ’13 – that he’s got company in this department.

“I can be a legend like G,” says Brady. “I can tell him, ‘I played your game. Now your kids are going to be playing my game.”

While Brady and Matthew rarely play video games against each other, their competitive spirit and sibling rivalry still bubbles to the surface if they do.

The brothers recall Brady playing the Madden football game on the ‘Be A Pro’ mode just a couple of years ago. Matthew was watching as a spectator, but asked to take over for his brother just for one play.

“I just wanted to be the quarterback for one play. I threw a pick-six and he was not happy,” laughs Matthew. “And then we got into a big wrestling match.”