Today, Brady Tkachuk is the captain and face of the Ottawa Senators. But before he was drafted, he was a nervous teenager attending the NHL Draft Combine. During his first interview, he was so nervous that he didn’t exactly impress his interviewers.
“I might have sounded like the dumbest human being of all time,” Brady revealed on his podcast.
The NHL Draft Combine is an annual event where the NHL Central Scouting Bureau invites top prospects for medical and fitness testing, as well as interviews with NHL teams.
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Brady Tkachuk’s draft combine
In 2018, it was Brady Tkachuk’s turn. His draft class was one of the strongest in recent years. Rasmus Dahlin, Quinn Hughes, Evan Bouchard, and Andrei Svechnikov were among the players selected early in the draft.
But, like any teenager in that situation, Brady Tkachuk was extremely nervous before the combine. On his podcast, Wingmen, which he co-hosts with his brother Matthew Tkachuk, Brady shared a not-so-fond—but hilarious—memory from the 2018 event.
“I think I might have had the worst interview of all time. My first one was with Edmonton, and I remember how nervous I was going into that. I might have sounded, to the surprise of everybody watching, like the dumbest human being of all time. They brought up college and how I didn’t have that many goals during my college year. They asked, ‘Do you think you can translate that to the NHL?’ and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think I can. I didn’t score that much, but I think I’ll be able to.’
Ended up on a list
“I was so nervous. I didn’t know what was going on. Then, finally, I got more comfortable, but I still remember that first one. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ They probably put me on the ND—No Draft—list,” Tkachuk joked on the podcast.
Fortunately for Tkachuk, the interview didn’t hurt his draft stock. He was selected fourth overall by the Ottawa Senators, a team he has captained for the past five seasons. Through 572 NHL games, Tkachuk has recorded 463 points, the second-most among players from the 2018 draft class, trailing only Quinn Hughes.
You can watch the podcast below.
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