"It's all about performance on the ice," Tambellini said. "If you can perform on the ice that's how you're going to make a name for yourself. If you're waiting around to have someone pick you up because of your last name that's not going to do you any good. I found that the best way to approach it is to each night go out and play and work as hard as I can and just try to contribute to each team that I play on. Hopefully that will one day help me make a name for myself."

The Michigan rookie, who led all freshmen in scoring in the CCHA this past season, may very well get a chance to add to the Tambellini legacy, as his style of play virtually mirrors that of his father.

"I think we're almost identical [in styles]," the younger Tambellini said. "I watched him play at the All-Star Game a few years back and our skating strides are almost identical and we've never really skated together that much. I think there are a lot of similarities in our game. I didn't get to watch him a ton, but from what I've seen I think we're pretty close."

Until he takes the ice for the first time in the NHL he won't be able to experience the pressures of playing in the League, but he can talk about the advantages and disadvantages of being a former pro player's son.

"I can't say because I haven't been on both sides, but it's just one of those things that you have to deal with right from the beginning and I think it's a great thing," Tambellini said. "You get to meet people that are in the business and in the game and you just get to see all the sides of what the NHL and pro hockey is all about.

"Through my years I've really enjoyed the opportunities to be around NHL players and those type of athletes and to have an opportunity to learn from them. When my father was playing in Vancouver, I was able to be around a lot of those guys in the early 1990s. I met the Trevor Lindens, the Pavel Bures and just to be able to learn from those guys and see what they were doing each night on the ice was something that I'll never forget."

But the advice and tips these youngsters receive from their fathers is also something that is invaluable and will stay with them forever.

Steve Tambellini played 10 years in the NHL and won one Stanley Cup.

"Growing up, my dad has been involved a lot. He helped me with my skill development and taught me his little tricks," Nystrom said. "But, now as I'm getting older, he's kind of letting me figure things out on my own. Of course he'll give me a pointer here and there, but he's real good at letting me see what type of player I am and figuring it out by myself. But he still gives me pointers and of course I listen to them. The guy had a 14-year NHL career and won four Cups. That's not too bad. He knows what he's talking about."

"He was the guy that brought me up right from the beginning," Tambellini said in regards to his dad, who played 10 years in the NHL and won one Stanley Cup. "He's always kind of assisted me in the little details of the game, on and off the ice. Whether it was in the weight room, or somewhere else he just helped me improve on all the little aspects of the game to help make that next step a little easier.

"My dad has always been there. Every day we talk and if there's something we need to go over, he's always there for me. He just makes every step of the way a lot easier. He clarifies everything that we go through and just makes it real easy."

These sons pay attention to the words that come out of their fathers' mouths not only out of respect, but also because they realize that their dads have been down these tough and sometimes rocky roads before.

"It's nice to have a person that's gone through it," Tambellini said. "He played in the Western League for three or four years and he's been through that aspect of the game. He's been through the NHL. He always been there for me and knows what it takes and what I need to do to stay on track. Just to have somebody there to look out for you and that has a knowledge of the game and knows just the way it goes, it helps to have that."