Brady Tkachuk details unexpected drug testing scene after Team USA clinched men’s hockey Olympic gold | NHL News
Brady Tkachuk drug test drama found its place in the middle of a champagne-soaked Olympic celebration that few American players will ever forget. Minutes after Team USA stunned Canada to win gold at the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, Tkachuk was ready to let loose. The music was blaring. Beers were cracked. History had been made. Then came the tap on his shoulder.The Ottawa Senators captain had just wrapped up his media duties when reality interrupted the party. On the latest episode of Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, he laughed about the timing, but in the moment it was anything but funny.“I’m like f–k yeah, let’s go have some beers and party,” Brady said. “I get a tap on the shoulder. ‘Hello Brady, you’ve been selected for a drug test.'”
Brady Tkachuk opens up about shock drug test after USA’s Olympic gold victory
The International Olympic Committee has long partnered with the World Anti-Doping Agency to enforce strict anti-doping rules, and gold medal night is no exception. Selections are routine. The timing, though, felt almost cruel.Brady chose not to take the test immediately. That decision came with a catch. As Matthew explained, once notified, an athlete remains under supervision until the sample is provided.
“How this works for the drug testing is like, ‘Brady, take your time, I’m not rushing you to go piss right now. But like I will be just standing by you where I can see you until you have to go,'” Matthew said.So there he was. The U.S. locker room roared around him while the designated official, nicknamed “little Johnny,” stood watch.“So, we’re in the locker room partying and Brady’s buddy, you know, little Johnny the drug tester, is like just sitting in the corner like just, you know, arms crossed and just watching us have the greatest time.”In a span of roughly 40 minutes, Brady downed five beers, three Powerades and two waters. Ninety milliliters was the required mark. Anything short meant waiting longer. Normally, postgame routine takes care of itself. This time, pressure crept in.Ten minutes before the team bus prepared to leave, he made his move.“Finally, 10 minutes before the bus (left), I’m like, ‘Eff it, I got to gamble, I got to gamble with this one.’ And did it, and (it was) 100 milliliters. I was like, ‘Thank God,’ because if I had to stay there and all the boys left and I had to meet them, I would have been sour.”The gold medal itself came courtesy of a sudden overtime strike from Jack Hughes, lifting the United States to a 2-1 win over Canada. It marked the program’s first Olympic title in 46 years and the first time both American hockey teams claimed gold at the same Winter Games.Celebrations spilled from Milan to Miami and then Washington, D.C., where the team met President Donald Trump before returning to NHL duty. Brady scored in his first game back, a gritty overtime loss to Detroit, his face bloodied from a heavy hit.The party eventually ended. The memory of that locker room, and the watchful eye in the corner, likely will not.
