Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk will be leading a different team in the offseason.
USA Hockey announced Thursday that Tkachuk will wear the captain’s “C” at the IIHF Men’s World Hockey Championship.
Brock Nelson, of the New York Islanders, Seth Jones, of the Chicago Blackhawks, and Zach Werenski, of the Columbus Blue Jackets have been named the team’s alternate captains.
Tkachuk, 24, is one of three Ottawa Senators players on Team USA, the others being Shane Pinto and Jake Sanderson. The Sens’ Ridly Greig is playing for Team Canada, while Dominik Kubalík is on Team Czechia.
The tournament, hosted by Czechia, begins Friday.
“We’ve got a great leadership group, and, in the end, everyone will have to lead in their own way for us to be successful,” said John Hynes, head coach of the 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team in a news release. “We’re excited about our team and look forward to starting play in the world championship tomorrow.”
This will be Tkachuk’s fourth time playing for Team USA. He was on the roster in the 2015 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, captain of the gold medal-winning under-18 U.S. national team at the 2017 IIHF World U18 Championships and won bronze with the U.S. at the 2018 World Juniors.
Tkachuk scored 37 goals this past season with the Senators, a career high, while also posting 37 assists in 81 games.