CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith has a way of making everything he does look easy.

The way he gets up and down the ice, the way he carries and shoots the puck, the way he defends, the way he plays and plays without seeming to tire -- it all seems effortless to him. Keith admits some of it does come naturally, specifically his stamina. He sets the bar annually for the Blackhawks’ V02 testing, which measures the maximum volume of oxygen, and it makes his teammates jealous.

“I barely see him tired out there,” Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson said. “It's unbelievable. He never takes a deep breath. He can play non-stop. It's pretty amazing to see actually. I can be gassed after a couple of shifts, but he just keeps going and going.”

There’s not really much explanation for it. Keith trains hard and stays in shape, but so do a lot of other players who aren’t able keep up with him. It’s just one of those athletic gifts he was born with. Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane recently described him as a freak in that respect.

But for all those other traits, those had to be earned. He possessed an enhanced starter’s kit due to his athleticism, but he put the time and effort into learning how to utilize his ability to become of the NHL’s premier defensemen.

Former Michigan State coach Ron Mason knew Keith was a special player when he recruited him. Mason recognized, though, that Keith wasn’t a complete product when he arrived on campus in 2001.

Duncan Keith skated a career-high 49 minutes, 51 seconds in the Blackhawks' triple-overtime Game 2 victory over the Ducks. Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

“When he came to Michigan State, he was fast, he had quick feet, he had a motor,” Mason said by phone on Wednesday. “He had to learn the game. What I worked with him on was how to show up for the whole game. In other words, you have to defend, get the puck out of the zone. A lot of times when you tell a young player, ‘You got to be a better all-around player, a better defensive player,’ it’s hard for them to really understand that. We had times where he looked at me like, ‘I’m going to do this and going to do that,’ but he was never obnoxious. We had some good discussions.”

Those discussions ended up being similar for Keith when he arrived to play for the Norfolk Admirals, which was at the time the Blackhawks’ AHL affiliate. Like Mason, Norfolk head coach Trent Yawney saw Keith’s obvious talent. Again, it was about fine-tuning it.

“When Dunc came in, he had the ability,” Yawney, now an Anaheim Ducks assistant coach, said recently. “It was him learning how to be a professional and learning how to defend with his body. ... He developed a great stick. That’s kind of been his trademark. The other thing, he’s always had a sneaky shot. It’s sneaky hard, and he gets it through.”

Over time, Keith developed into the full package. He not only could play as many minutes as anybody in the game, but he could also play them consistently well on both ends of the ice.

Keith’s numbers speak for themselves. He has compiled 415 points, been a plus-137 and averaged 25 minutes, 34 seconds of ice time in 766 career NHL regular-season games and has been awarded the Norris Trophy twice.

Keith’s value has only increased for the Blackhawks in the playoffs. They wouldn’t have won two Stanley Cups without him. This year’s playoffs provide a perfect example of what he means to his team. He has two goals, nine assists, is a plus-6 and leads the NHL with an average ice time of 32:02 in 12 games.

In the Blackhawks’ 3-2 triple-overtime win over the Ducks in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday, Keith played a career-high 49:51.

“I think as the game was progressing, it seemed like he was picking up his play,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “It was pretty remarkable. I think that's how we see him play all the time. That's a very unique quality that he has.”

Opponents have noticed it.

“Duncan Keith seems like he never gets tired,” Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. “He can skate for days.”

Mason often tunes into Blackhawks’ game to watch Keith and is still amazed by him.

“The level he’s playing now, I don’t think anybody thought he was going to get to that level,” Mason said. “He does it night in and night out. I still watch a hell of a lot of hockey. There’s not a night where he doesn’t make plays in every game, every shift.”

Keith isn’t one to brag. He doesn’t like talking about himself and especially doesn’t like to bring additional attention to his game.

“To me, I’ve always played a lot of minutes, even when I was a kid,” Keith, 31, said. “Maybe all those years of being on an outdoor rink all day long kind of makes playing five or six periods not that much. ... I don’t notice anything. I think as I’ve gotten older I’ve been smarter in researching and learning ways to take care of the body. I think that helps. I feel the same way I did when I was 22.”