They've followed the same path together for years, from before their college days, then as Ohio State Buckeyes, then in the entry draft, then to the Binghamton Senators and now to the doorstep of NHL careers.
And they've assisted each other's success all along the way.
"I think we're a little bit tired of hearing it all the time," Ryan Dzingel said with a chuckle when asked about his tight relationship with Max McCormick, "but it's good to have a guy like him around."
Dzingel, selected in the seventh round after the Senators picked McCormick in the sixth four years ago, was the offensive leader in Wednesday's pre-season win.