'There's Hatred There,' USA's Brady Tkachuk Talks Olympic Gold-Medal Hockey Matchup vs. Canada

After the United States defeated Slovakia 6-2 on Friday, Team USA and Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk set the stage for Sunday's gold medal showdown against Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

During an appearance on ESPN's SportsCenter, Tkachuk commented on the USA vs. Canada rivalry, saying, "I guess there's hatred there. They've been the top dog, they've been the best for the past bunch of years, and for us, we wanna be in that position. We wanna be the best. It's gonna be a game where I think a lot of guys can say this is the biggest game that they've ever played in."

Sunday represents a chance for the U.S. to win its first Olympic gold medal in men's hockey since 1980, and it will be the first gold medal game between Canada and the United States since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Games, which saw Canada win in overtime.

More recently, the United States and Canada met in the finals of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which was a best-on-best tournament last year that included the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden.

Although the Americans beat the Canadians 3-1 in the round-robin portion of the tournament, Canada got the last laugh when Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid scored an overtime goal to lift Canada to a 3-2 victory in the final.

Canada has long been the main superpower in men's hockey, but the narrative has started to change a bit in recent years.

The U.S. has won a pair of gold medals in the World Junior Championships since Canada last won gold in 2023, and last year, the Americans won their first IIHF World Championship gold since 1960.

Team USA is stacked from top to bottom with high-end NHL talent, and while it can be argued that Canada has the more elite players with McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Macklin Celebrini and Cale Makar, the U.S. is arguably deeper with a better overall defense and better goaltending.

There is very little separating the United States and Canada in men's hockey currently, which has perhaps made their rivalry more fierce than ever before.

That was apparent during the 4 Nations Face-Off when the Americans and Canadians engaged in a number of fights, although that won't be permitted Sunday under Olympic rules.

Still, it promises to be a highly physical and tightly contested affair that could come right down to the wire, just like their last meeting in the Olympic gold medal game 16 years ago.