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After Team USA’s thrilling victory over Canada in the Olympic gold medal game on Sunday, all Brady Tkachuk wanted to do was celebrate. However, he had to take a drug test first.
Tkachuk, 26, had finished his media obligations and was heading to the locker room when he received a tap on the shoulder.
“I get a tap on the shoulder: ‘Hello Brady, you’ve been selected for a drug test,'” Tkachuk said on a recent episode of his podcast “Wingmen with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk.”
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Brady Tkachuk (7) of the United States celebrates his gold medal during the men’s gold medal match between Canada and the United States on day 16 of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, February 22, 2026. (Vitalii Kliuiev/Getty Images)
Matthew Tkachuk said players are not required to take a drug test as soon as they are informed, but are under surveillance until they do. Brady said two other players chose to take their tests right away, but missed a few songs. He didn’t want to miss any of the celebrations, so he chose to wait for the bus to leave to take his exam, which didn’t last for another hour and a half or two hours.
Matthew said the man administering the test, a man he called “little Johnny,” had a front-row seat to the locker room celebrations.
Brady said that in the span of about 40 minutes, he had drunk about five beers, three Powerades and two waters, but had yet to feel like going to the bathroom. He explained that drug tests require 90 milliliters of urine and if you don’t fill the cup to the required amount, you have to wait to refill it.
Brady Tkachuk of the United States celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men’s gold medal match between Canada and the United States during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy on February 22, 2026. (Catherine Steenkeste/Getty Images)
Brady said that normally after a game he had no problem going to the bathroom, but with the pressure of having to take a test to continue celebrating, he wasn’t sure he could produce enough urine to complete the test. The captain of the Ottawa Senators said he was patient and finally decided to take the test 10 minutes before the bus left.
“Finally, 10 minutes before the bus (on the left), I say to myself: ‘Sure, I have to play, I have to play with this one.’ And I 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 bitter. »
Locker room celebrations kicked off a wild few days of celebration for Team USA.
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Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Matthew Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes attend a celebration of the U.S. men’s hockey team’s Olympic gold medal at E11EVEN Miami in Miami, Florida on February 23, 2026. (Alexander Tamargo/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami)
After the American team’s victory in Milan, the team flew to Miami to celebrate their victory at E11even, a famous nightclub. After their raucous celebration was over, they flew to Washington, D.C., to meet with President Donald Trump and attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
The Senators returned to action on Thursday and lost 2-1 to the Detroit Red Wings in overtime. Tkachuk scored the team’s only goal, but he was left bloodied after a big hit.
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