Keith Tkachuk opens up about his most horrible injury.

National Hockey League players Matthew and Brady Tkachuk have quickly established a reputation for themselves as some of hockey's toughest customers and that truly came to the forefront this year at the Four Nations Face-Off.

The two brothers were the talk of the sporting world after they showcased that toughness by both dropping the gloves in the opening seconds of a game between Canada and USA, but their particular brand of toughness didn't just appear out of thin air. No instead at least a good part of that toughness appears to be the product of the Tkachuk's genetics, genetics that were passed down to them by their father, former NHL star Keith Tkachuk.

Recently Keith was asked to discuss the most horrific injury he suffered during his time as a player in the NHL and that legendary Tkachuk brand of toughness was on full display as Keith shared the gruesome details of that injury.

According to Keith that injury occurred when he was struck by a shot from his own teammate, a young T.J. Oshie, one that caught him right in the face.

"All of a sudden I see [T.J. Oshie] shoots and I just did the old peak at the last second and it hit me square in the face, in my mouth," said Keith.

It must have been a pretty hard shot because not only did it feel horrible according to Keith, but it also did some extremely serious damage to his face.

"Let me tell you I felt like I got hit with a sledgehammer," admitted Keith. "It was the worst feeling I've ever had in my entire life, the worst injury I've ever had in my entire life."

The shot struck him with so much force that it destroyed his mouthguard.

"I wear a mouthguard," said Keith. "Worst part is it put a hole through the mouth guard. Some teeth were left in the mouthguard."

As insane as the injury was, the recovery process for Keith would be even more harrowing with the former NHL forward confessing that it required two years of dental work and plastic surgery to repair.

"It shattered my upper lip," said Keith. "So eventually I had surgery, they took bone out of my hip and put a new bone up there and then redid all my teeth, it took two plus years to get it all done."

Keith admits he would give a lot to be rid of the awful memory of that moment and the prolonged recovery required after the fact.

"I don't know where that puck is and I don't wanna know," said Keith. "I'd rather give up 20-25 goals just to take that one back."

Keith was then asked the most important question, did he cry?

"I don't cry," said the patriarch of the Tkachuk family.

You can hear his incredible story and I highly encourage you to do so, in the short clip below.