It was Oct. 21, 2016.

Barclays Center in Brooklyn seemed to fill to the point of breaking capacity. Among the crowd of eager onlookers were the Strome parents, Chris and Trish, and extended family.

It may have felt like just another game night for most of the players and fans in attendance, but for the Strome surname, it was an evening full of excitement mixed with a dash of anxiety.

Strome, now at a senior status having been with the Islanders for the last four years, was about to have a new experience - something only 29 other brother combinations in NHL history have had - facing off against his younger sibling, Dylan, now a budding prospect of the Arizona Coyotes.

Much like his older brother, Dylan had a successful junior career in the OHL, registering 354 points (114G, 240A) in 219 regular season games with the Erie Otters, as well as 86 points (37G, 49A) in 69 post-season games. He was also a first-round pick, with the Coyotes selecting him two spots higher than Ryan at third overall at the 2015 NHL Draft.

"I think it was only my third game ever, so I was still kind of trying to find my way," said Dylan.

"I hadn't scored my first goal yet, I was still nervous, our team was trying to get our first win, so there were a lot of things that I had to deal with…. I was kind of just pretty much trying to play hockey but there were so many distractions with my brother there."

"That's actually one of my favourite memories of my hockey career so far," said Ryan. "I think, just overall, I know I made it…but to see your brother do it and then to be with you [in that capacity] is unreal. I know my parents were just an emotional mess. Just to see your brother live his dream out right in front of you and then to compete was amazing. Honestly, you think about it but you never actually think it's going to happen and it did."

It was the first of two meetings for Dylan and Ryan, who met once more the following season on the latter Strome brother's new home ice, Rogers Place, on Nov. 28, 2017, which saw Edmonton defeat Arizona in an exciting 3-2 overtime win.

Since his arrival in Alberta's capital city, Strome feels as though he's found his footing with his new team, having registered 31 points (12G, 19A) in 68 games thus far.

"The hardest part about transitioning from one franchise to another would be the things that people wouldn't even think about," he said.

"The language that people use around here, the coaching staff, getting to know your trainers and your teammates, that goes a long way. I'm a pretty outgoing guy, pretty calm, like to have fun…have a lot of team camaraderie, and when you come to a new team you're kind of quiet, that's a big adjustment."

If Strome had any reservations, Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan made it clear that he knew what the right-shot forward was capable of.

"He's a utility player," said McLellan. "He has the ability to play centre and has in the past. He's been able to win faceoffs and he's also comfortable on the wings. We have the luxury of moving players around. As the fans here know, we like to do that. We like to have utility players that can move in and out from line to line."

In October 2017, Strome secured his first goal as an Oiler against the Carolina Hurricanes, which helped put to bed any additional nerves he may have been experiencing upon his arrival at the start of the season. Come December, thanks to a feed from teammate Leon Draisaitl, Strome potted not only his fifth goal of the season, but the first of two that night, which in turn, was also the 10,000th goal in Oilers franchise history.

"I had no idea. I actually, I was kind of nervous because, when I scored they said, '10,000th' and I'm going, 'Oh my god, what did I do?'" he said. "It was my 30th game as an Oiler and I scored the 10,000th goal, I was probably the last guy anyone would have predicted [to do that], so it was kind of cool."

But for Strome, it's not just about his own achievements, which have seen a lot of firsts for the family, it's also about celebrating the success of his younger brothers.

"None of us, as much as people might think, none of us really got anything easy," he said.

"My parents, they just want us to be good people, they wanted us to be good students and the hockey thing just kind of worked out, that was just kind of a bonus. To be where we are - obviously you want to be the best you can be - but right now everything is just a cherry on top. Being brothers from Canada, playing in the NHL's a dream, the success is awesome, but I think we're very tight, we're very lucky, we're healthy, we're happy, our family's very close and we're just living our dream."

These days, the Strome brothers have come to find themselves spread out across a continent. Though they may not be running around knocking on doors to ask one another to come out and play, they find ways to stay close, ensuring they never lose touch while the business of hockey hovers around them.

"We try and talk almost every day," said Matthew, referring to the family group chat they keep between one another and their parents. "I think, just checking up on each other, seeing how we're doing, seeing how they're living, how their practices were. We try and talk every day and if it's not every day it's for sure every other day."

"We play Xbox with each other too," said Dylan. "We've been playing lots of that with each other, so, we definitely keep in touch every day."

Strome may have blazed a trail: first to be drafted in the OHL, followed by the NHL, first to score an NHL goal and experience his first brotherly matchup. But with Dylan on deck and the youngest of the Strome brothers in the wings, the only remaining question is, when the time comes, who will be first to face-off against Matthew on the big stage?