Mark Messier reveals where he got his legendary toughness.

Former National Hockey League forward Mark Messier was as tough as they come.

Drafted in the 3rd round (48th overall) it would be Messier's toughness and leadership abilities that would come to define his NHL career, this in spite of the fact that he would average well over a point per game throughout that career.

But how exactly did Messier get to be as tough as he was?

During a recent interview with the crew from the Spittin Chiclets podcast, Messier would reveal that the edge in his game came from his father, former hockey player Doug Messier.

"My dad was a tough right hand defenseman," revealed Messier. "Pretty good player, played hard for his team and fought for his team."

Messier shared some stories about his father's own legendary toughness, with one story about his time with the Edmonton Flyers really standing out.

"He was trying to protect one of his scorers on the Edmonton Flyers and of course 3 guys from Calgary jumped him and gave it to him pretty good. He got kicked out of the game."

Now normally that would mean having to wait until the next game on the schedule against your opponents to get a measure of revenge, but Doug wasn't willing to wait that long.

"He was sitting there with his equipment on waiting for the game to end," revealed Messier. "The first guy that came through the door he drilled him, the second guy that came through the door he drilled him, finally a couple of more guys came in and they were able to restrain him."

After being restrained, Doug wasn't done. He also sent a warning to the rest of the players on the Calgary roster that hadn't had to deal with his blows.

"If you're not gonna fight together on the ice you're fighting me in the dressing room," said Doug according to his son.

Messier reveals that his father taught him about more than just the Xs and Os of the sport, and instilled the value of toughness and leadership in his son at an early age. It would appear as though those early lessons from Doug Messier definitely paid off for Mark.

You can hear Mark Messier discuss the importance his father played in shaping him into the hockey player he became in the video below.