It appears that the feeling was mutual between Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel. Immediately following puck drop on Saturday’s 4 Nations Face-Off match between USA and Canada, won 3-1 by the Americans, Tkachuk and Hagel threw their gloves to the ground and sparred with each other.
Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel was feeling quite patriotic after helping Canada defeat the United States 3-2 in overtime in Thursday's 4 Nations Face
Tkachuk, meanwhile, is a slam dunk to represent Team USA in the 2026 Winter Games. His thunderous performance in the 4 Nations Face-Off makes him a Stars-and-Stripes lock, alongside his brother Matthew.
The reasons differ from player to player and from one situation to the next. The three American forwards, for example, infamously had a group chat before the game in which they all pledged to get the crowd going by fighting in the game. Canada’s Brandon Hagel, on the other hand, had a different reason.