Senators’ Brady Tkachuk to serve as USA’s captain at 2024 IIHF Men’s World Championship

The leadership core has been revealed for the Red, White & Blue.

On Thursday, USA Hockey announced that Brady Tkachuk has been named captain of Team USA at the IIHF Men’s World Championship.

Brock Nelson, Seth Jones and Zach Werenski will serve as alternate captains for a team hoping to bring home some hardware from Czechia.

“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,” head coach John Hynes said in a release. “We’re excited about our team and look forward to starting play in the world championship tomorrow.”

This is Tkachuk’s first trip to the world championship, as the Ottawa Senators captain will be making his inaugural appearance with the senior national team. The Scottsdale, Arizona native was the captain of the U.S. National Under-18 Team at the 2017 IIHF Men’s Under-18 World Championship, which saw the United States win the gold medal.

Tkachuk has also represented the U.S. at the 2015 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge and 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship, winning bronze in Buffalo six years ago.

Tkachuk is flanked by a group of players with extensive international experience. Nelson and Jones represented their country at the 2014 and 2015 World Championships, winning bronze in 2015. Nelson also appeared in the tournament in 2016 and 2017, while Jones was part of the squad in 2022.

Jones was on the U.S. National Junior Team that won gold in Russia in 2013.

This is just Werenski’s second time playing at the IIHF Worlds, as he was on the 2019 team. The Grosse Pointe, Michigan native was on the 2016 World Juniors team that won bronze.

Despite having made it to the world championship semifinals in each of the last three tournaments, the United States is looking for its first medal since taking home bronze in 2021. They open Group B action in Ostrava on Friday, facing off against Sweden.