Brothers battle on and off the ice

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This article was published 12/10/2017 (2892 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — The pre-game war of words between the Tanevs was edgier than the on-ice battle last December when they faced each other for the first time in the NHL.

Trash talk, that’s what brothers do, although soft-spoken siblings Chris and Brandon Tanev remember engaging in some playful banter rather than trading actual smack.

“We got into it a bit, like just about any other day between brothers,” says Chris, 27, a skilled, defensively reliable blue-liner with the Vancouver Canucks. “Whether you’re on the street playing hockey or in your basement, you want to beat your brother. It doesn’t matter what you’re doing.

“That was the first time (going head to head) and it was pretty special. You remember that one for the rest of your life.”

Brandon, 25, a fast, plucky bottom-six forward for the Winnipeg Jets, clearly recalls the night he finally crossed paths with big brother.

“A couple of hits here, bumps there, but nothing crazy,” he says. “We had much worse when we were younger and just horsing around.

“It was exciting to play against your brother at the highest level of hockey. You grow up playing in the backyard and in the basement together. So, getting to go on the ice and play against him in the NHL is a great moment for the whole family.”

The Tanevs’ inaugural NHL on-ice encounter happened Dec. 20, 2016, a contest won 4-1 by the Canucks.

A rematch set for two nights later in Vancouver didn’t materialize because Winnipeg sent Brandon down to its AHL affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. But late in the season in Winnipeg, they were on opposite sides again, and Brandon evened the lifetime series at a game apiece (Winnipeg won 2-1 on March 26).

Chris and Brandon met for dinner Wednesday night and, 24 hours later, reconnected at Rogers Arena as the Western Conference squads faced off in their first of three meetings this NHL season.

The great hope for the clan — dad Mike Tanev, mom Sofie Meredith and younger brother, Kyle, 23 — is that there are years of showdowns still to come between the eldest and middle child.

Born and raised in the East York neighbourhood of Toronto, the Tanev kids ate, slept and breathed hockey. The boys were a little more than two years apart in age, meaning they shared hours together playing spirited basement mini-stick games, but they competed on different hockey squads growing up.

Their parents should have applied for chauffeur licences.

“It was chaos growing up,” Chris says. “Equipment everywhere, different schedules… trucking us around to games and practices, the usual Canadian household.”

Adds Brandon: “It was constant running around to rinks. We can’t thank our parents enough for all they did. Three boys playing hockey all over the place, and playing different sports, too, there was a lot on their plate.”

Chris, then just 21, burst onto the scene with Vancouver during the 2010-11 season, and seven years later he’s one of the pillars of a Canucks team in rebuilding mode.

An undrafted rookie, he played the 2009-10 season at Rochester Institute of Technology in New York and reached the NCAA Frozen Four, before signing with the Canucks that spring.

He began the 2010-11 season in Winnipeg with the Moose, Vancouver’s then-AHL affiliate, and wasn’t considered a likely candidate to don Canucks colours.

But he was called up to Vancouver in January when the blue-line corps ran into injury troubles, and debuted in Denver with friends and family, including Brandon, cheering from the stands. He stayed with the Canucks for most of the second half of the season, registering just one assist with limited playing time.

The following two seasons, he split time between Vancouver and its new farm squad, the Chicago Wolves, before landing a permanent gig with the big club in 2013-14.

Brandon, meanwhile, played four years at Providence College in Rhode Island, scoring the game-winning goal in the 2015 national final to lift the Friars to their first-ever NCAA title. Wooed by several squads, he had heard good things about the Jets organization from Chris, who came to know and trust people such as then-Moose general manager Craig Heisinger and owner Mark Chipman.

“He definitely had questions for me about Manitoba,” Chris says.

“I knew Zinger from there, knew he was a very good man and it was a quality organization. But (Brandon) made his own decision from there.”

Brandon signed with the Jets in March 2016 and played the last three games of the season with Winnipeg. Last season, he suited up for 51 contests with the NHL club, registering his only two tallies in the same game against the host Detroit Red Wings. This fall, he’s already halfway to that total after cashing in on a shorthanded breakaway earlier this week in Calgary.

He’s held in high regard by Winnipeg’s coaches, who have increased the tenacious left-winger’s responsibility load lately, elevating him to the third line and regularly calling on him to kill penalties.

“He can skate. He’s definitely one of the fastest guys whenever he’s on the ice,” Chris said.

“When he’s using his speed effectively, he’s a very good player for them. That was a great goal he got in Calgary.

“I haven’t had much of a chance to watch full games, but I’ll see bits and pieces. (Kyle) usually keeps track and I’ll get a text from him saying, ‘Brandon’s doing good or Brandon’s doing bad,’ or whatever. He’s keeps track of both of us.”

Brandon is equally complimentary toward a guy he considers a role model.

“I always wanted to play in the NHL. That was the dream, just like every other kid playing hockey in Canada,” he says. “Once you get the opportunity, the work isn’t finished. I think Chris helped me understand that. You have to continue to better yourself on and off the ice.

“He’s so smart, an unbelievable puck-moving defenceman. I feel like he has that ability to make people around him better and that’s a terrific characteristic to have as a hockey player.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @WFPJasonBell