{"id":456680,"date":"2026-02-13T10:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/456680\/"},"modified":"2026-02-13T10:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:44:17","slug":"the-keith-tkachuk-school-of-hard-knocks-inside-the-quinn-hughes-brady-tkachuk-friendship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/456680\/","title":{"rendered":"The Keith Tkachuk School of Hard Knocks: Inside the Quinn Hughes-Brady Tkachuk friendship"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILAN \u2014 They called themselves \u201cThe Three Amigos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just imagine what it must have been like for Quinn Hughes and Brady Tkachuk when, as teenagers, they lived together with Brady\u2019s dad, Keith, for two years in a townhouse the Tkachuk family was renting in Ann Arbor Mich., while Keith\u2019s two \u201cbillet sons\u201d were playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cFun,\u201d Quinn says, smiling. \u201cHe taught me how to drive. I don\u2019t even know if it was legal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTerrible driver. Terrible driver,\u201d Keith says. \u201cGodawful. I\u2019d say, \u2018Buddy, just let Brady drive!\u2019 But every couple weeks, I\u2019d take them to Ruth\u2019s Chris, and Quinn was my chauffeur.\u201d<\/p>\n

This was, incidentally, when the two now-NHL stars and U.S. Olympians were 15 \u2014 before either had their driver\u2019s license. So it was not legal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think he taught him how to drive so if my dad had a couple at dinner, Quinn could drive him home,\u201d jokes Tkachuk\u2019s oldest son, Matthew, also now an NHL star and U.S. Olympian. \u201cI think that was the master plan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady, of course, had lived with his dad his entire childhood. He was used to the mayhem and, yes, mentorship of the former NHL great.<\/p>\n

But Quinn?<\/p>\n

Those two years he spent living with Brady and Keith helped shape him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI put Quinn through the school of hard knocks,\u201d says Keith, a four-time Olympian whose 538 NHL goals rank second all time amongst U.S.-born scorers, laughing. \u201cQuinn\u2019s mom, Ellen<\/a>, and my wife, Chantal, should have their heads examined putting me in charge of taking care of Brady and Quinn those two years.\u201d<\/p>\n

As his cousin, New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, says of Keith, he\u2019s got no filter.<\/p>\n

What he thinks, he says.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s unique and authentic. What you see is what you get \u2014 in a fun-natured way. So Keith had a blast listening to the boys\u2019 banter, but he would also give it right back.<\/p>\n

\u201cQuinn can throw out some doozies,\u201d Keith says. \u201cJust being around them at the dinner table and hearing how their day was and just listening to these two goofballs would make my day every day. Some of the stuff they would come up with was ridiculous, but they were like my two boys. I wanted to make sure they were comfortable. They both worked hard, and I wanted to give them every opportunity to concentrate on hockey in school.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes became inseparable not long after meeting. They remain best friends despite being something of an odd couple. (Photo courtesy of Keith Tkachuk)<\/p>\n

Keith would live with Quinn and Brady most of the time during those two years, 2015-16 and 2016-17. If he had to leave town for work, his wife or Quinn\u2019s mom or dad would sub in. The top floor of the townhouse had the kitchen and living room, where \u201cThe Three Amigos\u201d watched countless NHL and college games, with Keith breaking down action like a film session.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just really lucky to have him and Brady,\u201d Quinn says. \u201cObviously, the friendship I had with Brady and Matthew. But Keith, I mean, Keith was the man. I learned a lot from him. I\u2019m sure I wasn\u2019t the easiest to deal with at 16, and same with Brady. But Keith\u2019s just a great person. I obviously looked up to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019d always talk hockey, talk life, talk different things. He wasn\u2019t afraid to bust anyone\u2019s balls, for sure, and I also have some funny memories of a couple of times when he did get really mad at us. I have really fond memories of it and created a lifelong friendship with Brady and Matthew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brady\u2019s bedroom was on the top floor. Quinn lived in the basement, where mini-sticks and video games were played.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a gong show,\u201d Brady says. \u201cI mean, it was just so much fun. It was playing Xbox, we watched a bunch of hockey and just a lot of stuff to keep us busy.\u201d<\/p>\n

But if Keith\u2019s \u201cbillet sons\u201d happened to play a bad game for the Program? Those fun conversations would turn, Quinn\u2019s dad says, \u201ctruthful.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn their first year of U-17s, they\u2019d get beat a lot, because they\u2019re younger than all the USHL kids, right?\u201d Jim Hughes says. \u201cAnd God forbid, if Brady and Quinn did not play well in any game, and Keith will tell you this, he would just say, \u2018ND. ND. Both of you guys are ND. No draft. No draft!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHe fed them like kings, made steak and rice every night, but God forbid they lost the game. There was a box of cereal waiting for them on the kitchen table when they got home off the bus. Keith was brutally honest with Quinn, and I think that\u2019s the greatest way to make forward progress.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jim and Ellen have been around hockey their entire lives \u2014 Jim a former Providence College player, Ellen a University of New Hampshire Hall of Famer. But they credit Keith, the once star power forward, with helping mold the oldest of their three NHL-playing sons.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Quinn to have that experience with Brady and with Keith, you know \u2026 how lucky were we?\u201d Ellen says. \u201cAnd they were so young. They were the two 15-year-olds on the team. They had late birthdays. And the time they had with him is immeasurable. The impact he had on Quinn was incredible. And he always told the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The groundwork for the whole experience was laid when Quinn and Brady were Peewees and met at the Brick, a tournament in Edmonton. Brady was playing for the Chicago Junior Blackhawks and Quinn for Toronto Pro Hockey. They hit it off, even exchanging jerseys after the tournament.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes exchanged jerseys at the Brick, a tournament in Edmonton. (Photo courtesy of Keith Tkachuk)<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we grew up and played some spring tournaments, got close there,\u201d Brady says. \u201cI think that first or second night of playing together, I was sleeping over at his house. We just grew to become close right away. I remember that first night: We played a ton of mini-sticks, just hanging out and having fun. We became inseparable from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decade later, Quinn still reaches out to Keith for guidance, and Brady and Quinn remain the best of friends at age 26.<\/p>\n

\u201cI talk to Quinn all the time, about hockey, but talk life with him as well,\u201d Brady says.<\/p>\n

Yet, they\u2019re like the Odd Couple.<\/p>\n

Personality-wise, Brady is loud and gregarious. Quinn\u2019s public persona, at least, is quiet and reserved.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe definitely have different personalities, and I think that\u2019s what makes it great,\u201d Brady says. \u201cWe, I guess, counterbalance each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s the visual of the two together. Brady is 6 feet 4, 226 pounds. Quinn is 5-10, 180.<\/p>\n

The size difference wasn\u2019t nearly so pronounced when they were in the Program.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Brady might have been the same weight (as Quinn),\u201d Matthew says. \u201cYou could see his ribs, he was so skinny. It was actually a lot similar to me. We both had big growth spurts when we went to the U.S. team. Quinn, on the other hand, stayed the same.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always joke, \u2018What did you feed Brady that you didn\u2019t give Quinn?\u2019\u201d Ellen says.<\/p>\n

Brady\u2019s size became an asset as he developed into\u00a0one of the NHL\u2019s most unrelenting power forwards. Quinn, meanwhile, became one of the league\u2019s most elusive and electrifying defensemen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI truly think he\u2019s the best defenseman in the NHL,\u201d Brady says. \u201cHe truly is a game breaker, and he\u2019s just so special to watch, and he\u2019s just so dialed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both were easy picks for the U.S. Olympic team and were among the first six players<\/a> named to the team in June.<\/p>\n

And now, like in the old days, they are having a blast in their first week in the Olympic Village \u2014 as are Matthew and Quinn\u2019s brother Jack.<\/p>\n

On the ice, Brady scored the first U.S. goal of the Olympics on Thursday, and Quinn minutes later put one in the net that briefly made it 2-0 but was then negated by an offsides review.<\/p>\n

Off the ice, the two sets of brothers are rooming together, with the Tkachuks right across the hall from the Hugheses.<\/p>\n

Matthew, 28, is two years older than Brady and Quinn and was playing for OHL London when they were living with his dad. London coach Dale Hunter would give the big-minute stars lots of time off and literally tell Matthew, \u201cCome back in five days.\u201d So he\u2019d often drive the 2 1\/2 hours to hang out in what he calls \u201cthe famous billet house\u201d with his dad, Brady and Quinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was so cool to watch their friendship grow,\u201d Matthew says. \u201cI think having my dad there all the time was really good for my brother and Quinn, and then having each other was amazing. And it\u2019s hilarious to me, thinking back, the nonsense that would go on in that household and the fun and the laughs and just the great camaraderie that they have as best friends and everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then to see where they are now \u2014 stars for the Wild and Senators, a couple captains in the NHL, although I know Quinn\u2019s not anymore since the trade<\/a> (from the Vancouver Canucks to the Wild in December). But I give my dad a lot of credit because he treated them as if he was molding two kids into NHL superstars.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was a proud moment when both \u201cbillet sons\u201d went high in the first round in the 2018 NHL Draft: Brady No. 4 to the Ottawa Senators and Quinn No. 7 to the Canucks.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\n Brady Tkachuk, Keith Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes pose together at the 2018 NHL Draft. (Photo courtesy of Ellen Hughes)<\/p>\n

\u201cQuinn had something really special in his game, and he showed it at the Program,\u201d Keith says. \u201cHe had some ups and downs, but that\u2019s typical for a young player at that level. But you could just tell he had that special offensive ability that made the game look easy, especially with his skating and his brain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sometimes, though, he wasn\u2019t that smart. Like the time he didn\u2019t like the lunch Keith packed for him and decided to throw it in the yard.<\/p>\n

Keith caught Quinn red-handed. It\u2019s a story that is retold often in the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe would make the boys their lunches to bring to school,\u201d Matthew recalls. \u201cIt was simple stuff to make sure that the boys were ready to just focus on school and hockey. This one time, Quinn wasn\u2019t a big fan of what he had packed that day. I don\u2019t know exactly what it was, but he threw it out the window into their front yard or into one of the bushes just because he didn\u2019t want to bring it to school. He didn\u2019t want it, and he was just going to order something there.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know why he just didn\u2019t throw it in the trash, because my dad found the utensils in the yard still in the plastic. So instead of dropping them off the next few days of DiBella\u2019s or Chipotle or whatever they normally got and loved, he would throw a s\u2014-y peanut butter and jelly sandwich at them when they\u2019d come out to pick up their lunch as punishment. My dad was pretty pissed off.\u201d<\/p>\n

And he took it out on both \u201cbillet sons,\u201d not just Quinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrady was pretty pissed with me because suddenly he didn\u2019t get a good lunch either because I got tired of the leftovers,\u201d Quinn says, smiling. \u201cKeith would mash up the peanut butter and jelly and throw them in Ziploc bags and chuck it at us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, Brady begged his dad to forgive Quinn.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrady called me on the way to practice and said, \u2018Quinn is really flustered by this,\u2019\u201d Keith says. \u201cQuinn wasn\u2019t the most intelligent kid at that age, plus I\u2019m part detective here. And if Brady didn\u2019t like the lunch I packed, at least he was savvy enough to get rid of it. But Quinn finally said, \u2018I\u2019m sorry I let you down, Walt.\u2019 And to be honest, I wasn\u2019t really mad. I was just screwing with them. But I just wanted to teach them a lesson: Don\u2019t lie to me, and you guys have it pretty good. There\u2019s not many kids that get food dropped off to them two or three times a week. Most kids bring their own packed lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was one of the many lessons Quinn and Brady learned from Keith.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really think my dad was a huge piece in both of them and instilling the confidence and the work ethic and the experience of what it actually takes to not just make the NHL but to take that next step and to be a good leader and to be a good teammate and to be good to the trainers and everything,\u201d Matthew says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to fathom Jack and I have a chance to win gold with Brady and Matthew,\u201d Quinn says. \u201cThat would be special for both of our families.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quinn\u2019s parents couldn\u2019t be more appreciative of Keith and how he treated their son.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was my pleasure,\u201d Keith says. \u201cAs much as I hope they learned from me, I learned a lot from them, and we had a blast.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was all sports. We loved watching hockey together. We loved talking about hockey. And Quinn\u2019s a great kid. That was probably his first time away, especially from his parents. So it was basically the Keith Tkachuk School of Hard Knocks.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MILAN \u2014 They called themselves \u201cThe Three Amigos.\u201d Just imagine what it must have been like for Quinn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":456681,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5118],"tags":[93,57,5,54125,161,38,5280,4,2602,25,84,27,162],"class_list":{"0":"post-456680","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-wild","8":"tag-detroit-red-wings","9":"tag-florida-panthers","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-mens-olympic-ice-hockey","12":"tag-minnesota","13":"tag-minnesota-wild","14":"tag-minnesotawild","15":"tag-nhl","16":"tag-olympics","17":"tag-ottawa-senators","18":"tag-st-louis-blues","19":"tag-vancouver-canucks","20":"tag-wild"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116062918114180029","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=456680"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/456680\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/456681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=456680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=456680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=456680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}