Back when Keith Tkachuk was making headlines for the Phoenix Coyotes, his son Matthew Tkachuk was just beginning his eventual path to the NHL.

Matthew Tkachuk put the world on notice this past season when he helped lead the underdog Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup Final. The 25-year-old superstar is now widely considered as one of the premier players in the NHL.

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Tkachuk’s journey and path into professional hockey all began in Arizona.

On Dec. 11, 1997, Tkachuk was born in Scottsdale Arizona just over a year after his father Keith Tkachuk started playing for the Phoenix Coyotes, a newly established franchise at the time.

Matthew spent his early childhood years in Arizona as Keith played for the Coyotes from 1996-2001. It was there where Matthew believes his love for the game of hockey was truly brought to life.

“I’m sure that’s where I first started to love the game,” Matthew said in 2016 Via The Arizona Republic. “Obviously, you have a special place for that.”

Even at a young age, Matthew was always a hockey junky.

“He would watch the highlights at 3 years old,” said Coyotes head equipment manager Stan Wilson back in 2016. “When my wife would be babysitting him, they’d play hockey. He’d stand there and make her sing the national anthem. He’s been a hockey nut his whole life, that’s for sure.”

It's pretty hard to imagine but Matthew used to wear the Coyotes uniform with excitement as he started to understand hockey at a deeper level back when Keith used to play in the Valley.

“It was more of a thrill for me to see him than him really recognizing what was going on,” Keith said in 2016. “He had his tight little Coyotes jersey on, which was funny because he was a bigger baby. So it was awesome. It was a lot of fun.”

Now Matthew is one of the most feared players in the NHL playing a hard nose, ferocious type game. He is coming off his best statistical season where he had 40 goals, 69 assists and 109 points in 79 games.

Matthew plays the game with a passion that not very few players have. That rare type of passion and drive for hockey all started in Arizona.