Chantal Tkachuk Talks Raising NHL Sons Matthew and Brady Tkachuk — and How Their Fights as Kids Helped Them Succeed (Exclusive)

• Chantal Tkachuk is the mother of NHL stars Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk, as well as Virginia field hockey player Taryn Tkachuk

• Chantal raised her three children with husband Keith Tkachuk, who had his own NHL career

• Chantal says Matthew and Brady, two NHL enforcers, would often fight with each other growing up, “but then five minutes later, they’d be back playing together”

When Matthew Tkachuk and his younger brother Brady Tkachuk helped spark three fights in the first nine seconds of the long-anticipated return of the Canada vs. United States hockey rivalry this year, perhaps no one was less surprised than their mother, Chantal Tkachuk.

Chantal recently spoke with PEOPLE about raising her NHL sons Matthew, 27, and Brady, 25, who have both long carried reputations as two of hockey’s toughest players.

“They were typical brothers – busy, competitive,” Chantal recalls, before breaking out into a laugh over how “competitive” they’d get with each other.

“It would usually end up in a tussle at some point,” the NHL mom says. “But then five minutes later, they’d be back playing together.”

Whether they were fighting in the stands during their dad Keith Tkachuk’s games with the St. Louis Blues or down in the basement of the family’s suburban St. Louis home while they were playing each other in stick hockey, Matthew and Brady’s relationship played out like clockwork.

“No question they would get into it from time to time, but that was just part of how they played,” Chantal says, pausing to analyze her two boys. “I think it ended up contributing to them succeeding in what they’re doing now, because they pushed each other so much.”

For the first time in their careers, both Matthew and Brady made the playoffs, which recently concluded its first round. Matthew’s Florida Panthers advanced, while Brady’s Ottawa Senators were eliminated – but not before clawing back from a 3-0 series deficit against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Chantal and Keith, who married in 1997, were at every one of Brady’s games during his playoff debut, and say they will now travel to watch Matthew’s second-round series against Toronto in person.

Chantal says the Tkachuk family always turns out in full support for the boys, dating back to their youth hockey days when Keith’s mother Gerry Tkachuk and Chantal’s late mother Pat Oster — two of Matthew and Brady’s most passionate supporters — would sit alongside her in the stands.

Chantal and Keith also share daughter Taryn, a standout field hockey player at the University of Virginia, which made a deep run in the NCAA Tournament this past November.

“The three of them were busy and active kids, very involved in tons of different sports,” Chantal says. “Growing up, Keith traveled so much that they were my full-time job, but I couldn’t have asked for anything better. I feel so fortunate that I got to be part of everything throughout their lives.

“Now, it’s getting to the point where Keith and I are starting to have more time to ourselves,” she says. “But it still gets crazy busy.”

Even though her children’s sporting events still take up a hefty portion of her schedule, Chantal says she and Keith are carving out their own time. Chantal recently visited her father in Winnipeg, and after the Stanley Cup Playoffs are over, she plans to vacation in France with Taryn to celebrate her college graduation.

Next February, Chantal and Keith hope to travel Europe and stop in Italy to watch their sons play side-by-side once again for Team USA when NHL players return to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Keith and I are just beside ourselves being able to watch them play on the same team,” Chantal says.

Matthew previously told PEOPLE it was his dream to play on the same team as his younger brother, who he’s faced off against a number of times in recent NHL seasons — with mom Chantal watching anxiously from the stands.

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“When your kids support one another the way that they do, it makes me feel really proud no matter what,” Chantal tells PEOPLE. “Especially with the boys, because they’re competitors on the ice and playing for different teams, but off the ice, they just want the best for one another and will support each other no matter what.”

Chantal adds: “Once the game’s over, they just go back to being brothers.”

Read the original article on People