Mike Sullivan Comments on Brady Tkachuk's Status Ahead of Tomorrow's Final
Mike Sullivan met with the media today and revealed that he does expect Brady Tkachuk to play tomorrow and that only Charlie McAvoy is completely out.
Team USA got some good and bad news during its last full practice before tomorrow's 4 Nations Face-Off final versus Canada.
The good news was that both Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk were on the ice today for practice after they both missed Monday's game against Team Sweden.
- Matthew Tkachuk
The bad news was that Brady Tkachuk did not practice with the team, however, U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan did provide a little bit of a silver lining in relation to that.
Sullivan told reporters today that he expects both the Tkachuk brothers and Matthews to be available for Thursday's championship. He specified that Brady was feeling ill today, as a flu bug has been going around at the 4 Nations.
The hope is that both the Tkachuk brothers and Matthews will be able to compete at a level of 100% if they are to have a chance at defeating a powerful Team Canada tomorrow.
With Brady absent from practice today, Kyle Connor skated in his place on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel.
Brady exited early against Sweden for precautionary reasons after he slammed into the post while going in hard. While it was expected he would have been back at practice today, his illness now appears to have kept him out.
Matthew Tkachuk stated his brother will do everything he can to play tomorrow
Matthew was asked about his brother's injury on Wednesday and continued to state his brother's desire is to suit up and represent his country, It is something they have both dreamed of.
- Matthew Tkachuk
Fans are eagerly awaiting puck drop for this historic event and will be able to tune in tomorrow night at 8 PM EST.
![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) and forward Anthony Cirelli (71) try and find the loose puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530722.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) and forward Anthony Cirelli (71) try and find the loose puck during the second period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game against Team Finland at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images")
![Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) shoots the puck while Team Finland defenseman Olli Maata (3) defends during the first period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530714.webp "Feb 17, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) shoots the puck while Team Finland defenseman Olli Maata (3) defends during the first period in a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530544.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates his goal against Team Finland in the third period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/530571.webp "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward brandon Hagel (38) plays the puck and Team United States defenseman Charlie McAvoy (25) defends in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
