Team USA star Matthew Tkachuk said he wanted to show how proud they were to be Americans during the 4 Nations tournament. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk joined Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast, where Jason asked the Tkachuk brothers if they knew from the moment the national anthems happened they were going to get into fights with team Canada off of the puck drop. “I think that, USA, that team was such a proud group of Americans and wanted to show how united we were and how proud we were to be Americans,” Matthew responded. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM”I mean, let’s face it, the last bunch of years you really haven’t seen that from Americans in general, like to show off how proud they are to be a part of the United States. I think that our team did a great job of making a big impact on people from the whole tournament, but especially that game against Canada. Going into a hostile environment and wanting to set the tone in a very tough place against a very great team.”Prior to the now-infamous fights, the Canadian fans booed the United States national anthem, setting up a backdrop for what took place after the puck drop. The booing of “The Star-Spangled Banner” began with President Donald Trump’s threat to issue tariffs on Canada and even saying that the country could become the “51st state.” It has been common for boos to be heard during the USA’s national anthem. Both Toronto Raptors and Ottawa Senators fans have booed the USA’s national anthem, since the tariffs were set to begin. NHL STAR MATTHEW TKACHUK REFLECTS ON 4 NATIONS FINAL: ‘WE’RE SO LUCKY TO BE FROM THIS GREAT COUNTRY’The tariffs have since paused.Adding the political backdrop to what was already a highly anticipated matchup, Matthew said Brady and fellow forward JT Miller talked about fighting right away to set the tone pregame.”It made me very proud to be playing for that team during that moment. You know to see how united we were in like I said, a hostile environment. At the end of the day, a fight’s a fight, you’re going there to beat the other guy up, but I think it was more than that. It was more to show your teammates we got this. We’re together in this, we all come from different parts of the country, different backgrounds, different teams, and you know we’re in this, and we’re going to fight together,” Matthew said during his appearance on “New Heights.””That made me really proud to be honest with you and even people since the tournament, that’s all their talking about. How proud they were of our team and how united we were and how we were an inspiration to them and I think that’s coming from the whole tournament, but that’s what makes me most proud.”CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APPMatthew previously talked about how grateful he is to be an American during a trip to the White House, as he was part of the Florida Panthers Stanley Cup-winning team last season. “Thank you, Mr. President, for having us today. We greatl
An NHL star shares his thoughts on the American pride displayed by Team USA players, stating, ‘I haven’t observed that level of pride from Americans as a whole.’
