The Tkachuk brothers are the featured guests on the latest episode of the "NHL @TheRink" podcast.
Brady Tkachuk, the Ottawa Senators captain, and Matthew Tkachuk, the Florida Panthers forward, joined co-hosts Dan Rosen and Shawn P. Roarke for separate interviews during the NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas earlier this month.
Brady discussed his summer wedding, his excitement going into the season, the growth of his team and what he learned watching Matthew and the Panthers go on their run to the Stanley Cup Final last season.
"Just to see the every-day grind of taking care of himself, making sure he's ready for the game, and just as a leader too, taking care of yourself so you're able to demand from the rest because you're doing it right," he said. "I'm definitely ready and hopefully it'll be me in the playoffs soon.
"Seeing what he did created a lot of motivation for me over the summer."
Matthew discussed the broken sternum he sustained during the Stanley Cup Final and the pain he was in, the help he got from his brother at that time, Brady's bachelor party in Miami, and feeling a different vibe in the South Florida market after last season.
"Very different," Matthew said. "A lot more buzz. There's a lot of buzz around every sports team. It's turning into a sports crazy town and that makes it fun. [Soccer star Lionel] Messi coming in makes that much more buzz. The past few years the Dolphins have been great. What us and the Heat did last year really gave a lot of traction for us as a hockey team. So it's pretty cool."
But it wasn't all Tkachuk all the time.
Rosen and Roarke talked about the positive impact of the recently completed 2023 NHL Global Series -- Melbourne, which saw the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes play two preseason games at Rod Laver Arena. They discussed the Senators and Panthers, and if the Tkachuks' teams have what it takes to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season.
They also gave opinions on Sidney Crosby's take that Connor McDavid could have 170 points in a season, and why that might not be a good thing for the Edmonton Oilers. And they offered some thoughts on the contract stalemate between the Anaheim Ducks and their two remaining restricted free agents, forward Trevor Zegras and defenseman Jamie Drysdale.
The "NHL @TheRink" podcast is free and listeners can subscribe on all podcast platforms. It also is available on NHL.com/multimedia/podcasts and the NHL app.
