You can clearly hear Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk chirp Germany’s Leon Draisaitl, and it’s ridiculously creative
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Jonathan Ouimet
Feb 15, 2026 (7:13 PM)
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Matthew Tkachuk chirped Leon Draisaitl with a brutal “bridesmaid” line, and Olympic hockey just got personal for anyone watching Milano Cortina 2026.
The clip is making the rounds for a reason, it’s short, sharp, and it lands right on the ego.
Tkachuk doesn’t waste words when he chirps. He aims for the one sentence a star will hear on repeat during the next shift.
This one went straight at Draisaitl’s biggest storyline, all those deep runs and near-misses that still don’t end with a ring.
And that’s the point with Tkachuk, he doesn’t just annoy you, he tries to tilt your focus off the puck and onto him.
The line itself, “Always the bridesmaid, Leon, never the bride,” is nasty because it sounds like a joke until you realize it’s a challenge.
It’s also classic Tkachuk timing, he waits until the game has heat, then he strikes with something that can’t be answered on the scoreboard immediately.
Matthew Tkachuk and Team USA weaponize chirps in Olympics
You can feel fans split instantly, half laughing, half furious, because everyone knows that chirp would bug their own guy if it landed the wrong way.
Tkachuk’s reputation is built on calculated chaos, the constant pokes, the net-front battles, the little conversations after whistles.
He gets under skin because he’s not just talking, he’s also a problem to defend when the puck drops.
The funniest part is Tkachuk doesn’t need the other guy to answer him. If he gets one extra retaliatory shove, one dumb penalty, he already won the exchange.
Whether you love him or hate him, you can’t deny Matthew Tkachuk’s creativity or how ruthlessly effective he is at doing his job, no matter the stage he’s on.
He can turn a throwaway moment into a mental edge, then back it up with the next battle or the next touch.
That consistency is what separates a random agitator from a real weapon: the chirps aren’t just noise, they’re part of the plan, and he executes it like clockwork.
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FEVRIER 15|63 ANSWERS You can clearly hear Team USA’s Matthew Tkachuk chirp Germany’s Leon Draisaitl, and it’s ridiculously creative Did Matthew Tkachuk’s chirp at Leon Draisaitl cross the line in Olympic hockey? | ||
| Yes | 27 | 42.9 % |
| No | 36 | 57.1 % |
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