Penguins defenseman P.O Joseph and family star in national car commercial

P.O Joseph might not be the most prominent name on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ roster.

But the left-handed defenseman is the only member of the team who endorses a major automotive brand and even has a national commercial.

Up north.

Last week, Hyundai Canada began airing an advertisement that features Joseph as well as his brother, Ottawa Senators forward Mathieu Joseph, and mother, France Taillon, all natives of Quebec.

In the spot, Taillon is shown driving a Palisade SUV and, in French, begins reacting to the sound of roughhousing in the back seat. Following a few reprimands, she pulls the vehicle over and P.O, 24, and Mathieu, 26, are shown shoving each other while wearing their teams’ respective jerseys. Taillon — with a simple but stern glare — orders P.O into the third row in order to bring the bickering to a halt.

Hyundai Canada also has an accompanying commercial in English featuring Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk, Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk and their mother, Chantal Tkachuk, following the same script.

P.O Joseph credited Mathieu for pursuing the endorsement.

“My brother has been working a little bit with the NHLPA people, and they thought about doing a commercial in French,” P.O Joseph said. “And they thought of us. So we brought our mom to Toronto and had a little bit of a fun time there doing a commercial for TV. It’s definitely something we (haven’t) done before. But it was a fun experience.”

The advertisement was filmed this summer in Toronto and served as something of a family reunion.

“We flew to Toronto from Montreal for a couple of days,” Joseph said. “We had time to spend time with our mom, which we don’t do often, and go for dinner. So it was fun other than just the commercial.”

The Josephs have had some bellicose encounters on the ice. During a game in January, each took a high-sticking penalty against the other in a bizarre sequence that went viral after Taillon and father Frantzi Joseph were shown in attendance, reacting with befuddlement.

While the commercial was obviously a silly spoof, it wasn’t exactly a work of fiction. Just like any brothers, the Josephs had their battles away from the ice.

“Oh, it’s 100% percent accurate,” P.O Joseph said. “I feel like my mom did a pretty good job at knowing exactly what was going on in the back seat. It’s definitely not a first encounter between my brother and I with that kind of stuff. She’s used to that reaction, so it was easy to do.”

Being in a national television advertisement and doing it in his first language was profound for Joseph and family.

“It’s fun to do it in French,” P.O Joseph said. “It’s something you always hope that one day that maybe you would be on TV. … It was big for my brother and I, and definitely for our mom, to do something special like that.”

Notes: Injured defenseman Will Butcher participated in a practice session Sunday in Cranberry. Wearing a white jersey, he skated in a non-contact fashion. A free agent signing who agreed to a one-year, two-way contract in July, Butcher has been sidelined since suffering an undisclosed injury during the offseason. Coach Mike Sullivan indicated Butcher’s status remains indefinite, but participating in a full practice session was a step forward in his rehabilitation. … The Penguins have a scheduled day off for Monday.