Blue Jackets center Pierre-Luc Dubois etched his name in the franchise record book last week, but Monday morning the teenager arrived at Nationwide Arena to the sight of hockey history far more personal.

In his locker stall was a wooden Koho hockey stick belonging to another Dubois who wore No. 18. For an old soul who cherishes family artifacts, a twig used by his father two decades ago in a minor-league game is almost as meaningful as surpassing Rick Nash’s rookie record for goals in a season.

The stick was a gift from Blue Jackets skills coach and resident pack rat Kenny McCudden, who 22 years ago coached Dubois’ father, Eric, in the minors.

While the sport continues to expand globally, the memento is a reminder of how small and thoughtful the hockey world really is. The youngster gripped the stick and showed it to teammates — the circle of life on full display to those witnessing the joy in Dubois’ smile.

“I mean, it’s really cool,” Dubois told The Athletic. “I was happy. I knew Kenny had it and he told me he was going to give it to me one day, but I didn’t expect to see it today in my stall when I came in.”

Pierre-Luc Dubois displays a wooden Koho stick used by his father, Eric. The stick was a gift from Blue Jackets assistant Kenny McCudden, who coached Eric during the 1995-96 season. (Photo courtesy of Todd Sharrock/Blue Jackets media relations)

For a rookie who’s given the Blue Jackets such a pleasant surprise this season, it’s only fitting he receive one of his own. His transformation from third-line winger to first-line center is a major reason the club sits on the cusp of a second consecutive playoff berth.

Dubois ranks seventh among NHL rookies with 19 goals, and his 45 points are the third most on the Blue Jackets.

“(He’s) a rookie that we were worried about giving too much (responsibility), and he accepted everything — and he wants more,” coach John Tortorella said after Dubois’ first NHL hat trick Thursday night in Calgary. “For now, and for the future, that's a huge position on a team that's trying to build right up the middle with that type of size. He's just doing everything.”

Dubois is not just a collector of goals and assists, but also of memories, particularly of his family.

The 19-year-old loves old photos of his grandparents. His left forearm has the birth dates of his mother, father and sister tattooed in Roman numerals.

His maternal grandfather, Michael Daniel McClure, owned motorcycles, and Dubois is determined to buy back one of the Harley-Davidsons that were sold off after his death.

“Family is very important to him,” said Eric, an assistant coach for the Manitoba Moose, an AHL affiliate of the Jets. “I know he would love to get that (Harley) Fat Boy or the bike his grandfather had from the 1950s.”

The stick represents a bond between hockey-playing father and son. Eric coached Pierre-Luc in summer leagues for years, but being a dad was his most important role. To this day, father and son only exchange text messages during the season unless the youngster wants to talk.

When The Athletic reached Eric on Monday, he was unaware McCudden had given his boy the stick even though the two coaches had discussed the idea several months ago.

“During the team’s father-and-son trip (in February), Kenny told me about it,” Eric said. “I was like ‘Come on, Kenny, you really didn’t keep one of my sticks,’ and he said, ‘yeah.’ I guess he was right.”

Anyone who knows McCudden understands the assistant’s affinity for hockey and skating memorabilia.

His family’s home in Illinois doubles as a museum. It houses about 850 sticks from former players and more than 300 pairs of skates, including one pair that’s more than a 1,000 years old and made from the femur of a deer.

McCudden’s basement is more well organized than the Library of Congress. The sticks are catalogued and grouped in subdivisions — National Hockey League, American Hockey League, International Hockey League.

Eric, who had a long minor-league career, played for McCudden during the 1995-96 season with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

So when the coach’s wife went home last week it didn’t take her hours to find the stick belonging to Eric Dubois.

“I’ve got sticks from Gordie Howe to Bobby Orr, and Eric Dubois was in the middle of them,” McCudden said. “Eric was a heavy hitter, a defenseman who could throw a good hip check.”

McCudden originally planned to present Pierre-Luc with his dad’s stick in the fall, but his wife’s trip home expedited the gift-giving process.

“He had a big, big grin,” the coach said. “The boys were all talking about it because they couldn’t believe that was a stick they used in those days.”

Eric Dubois favored wooden sticks into the early 2000s while playing in Germany and England. As the rest of the world switched to composite materials, Eric was the European leagues’ equivalent to former Blue Jackets forward David Vyborny, who stayed loyal to wood through his final season (2007-08) in Columbus.

“They made fun of me in Germany for still using those sticks,” the former defenseman said. “I just liked the feeling. I felt like I could feel the puck better.”

Defenseman Eric Dubois, who played professionally for two decades, took some good-natured grief for staying loyal to wooden sticks, but he never made the switch to composites. He's pictured here with Nottingham Panthers in England wielding his trusty Koho in 1998. (Getty images)

Beyond the material, the feature most striking about the Koho is its relatively short length for a defenseman who played at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds.

“I guess maybe I could bend a lot better in those days,” Eric said laughing. “The stick I use today is 4 inches longer.”

Dubois already has started a collection of his father’s memorabilia that includes old hockey cards from Eric’s playing days. The stick will be prominently displayed one day.

Eric marvels at how McCudden has impacted the hockey lives of two generations of family members. The Blue Jackets assistant has been working with Dubois on making better use of his 6-foot-3, 217-pound frame and his reach to keep the puck away from defenders.

Giving him a family keepsake takes the player-coach relationship to another level, however.

“I mean, to get something that sat in his basement for 22 years is really cool,” Dubois said. “It’s a really nice gift that I will be able to keep for a really long time. Hockey is obviously a big part of my father’s life, and to have one of his sticks is really cool.”

McCudden also collects golf clubs and is a huge fan of the sport. He would be thrilled at a chance to meet the legendary Jack Nicklaus.

Gee, you think somebody in Columbus might be able to arrange that?

— Reported from Columbus. The Athletic's Alison Lukan contributed to this story

Photo: Pierre-Luc Dubois (Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports)