NHL draft tracker: Kyle Connor, Youngstown Phantoms

Kyle Connor understands raising his draft stock hinges largely on making his teammates better.

Following his unofficial coming-out at the world under-18 championship in April, where he helped Team USA recapture the gold medal, the centre returned to the United States Hockey League's Youngstown Phantoms fully aware that he would have to do more than just score. The University of Michigan recruit is still doing that with 10 points in his first seven games, but the 6-foot-1, 182-pound Connor also wants to help the Phantoms succeed as a group. Youngstown is off to a respectable 4-2-1 start. Team success could help cement Connor as a Top 10 or 15 prospect for the next NHL draft.

"The past couple years I was a younger guy who was just learning and it's time to pass on my experience," says Connor, whom NHL Central Scouting ranked as an A-level prospect on its preliminary scouting. "It's my third year and I I think it's going really well ... I'm focusing on touching up on the finer things in my game."

"One of my goals for this year would just be to improve in the defensive zone and work on getting stronger throughout my entire game," the Shelby Township, Mich., native adds. "Whether it's winning puck battles or being stronger in front of the net.

"We have a really strong team here and we have to focus on getting better each day."

Finishing second in USHL scoring as a 17-year-old last season with 31 goals and 74 points across 56 games helped vault Connor into rare company. When he scored on Oct. 11 during the Phantoms' home opener, he joined New York Islanders prospect Taylor Cammarata snd current Minnesota Golden Gophers senior forward Seth Ambroz as the sole USHLers in the league's Tier 1 era to score his 50th career goal before turning 18 years old.

Connor has done that in a USHL that is getting deeper each season ("they've produced 4-5 first-rounders every year, which is a testament to the league and how far it's come in the past couple years," he says). As this season plays out, Connor is intent on working with his coach, Anthony Noreen, to become more of a student of the game, since with each year it becomes harder to get by on innate individual talent.

"We do a lot of video in Youngstown," says Connor, who had two goals in 18 seconds during a game last weekend. "Coach Noreen and I have pretty good communications. He's been really good for my development in Youngstown."

Connor, who turns 18 in December, committed to Michigan early in his teens. He grew up less than a 90-minute drive from Ann Arbor.

"It's a really good program [at Michigan] and they do a great job of developing players," he says. "I grew up as a Michigan fan, watching football, watching any sport, basketball, hockey. I was real excited when they offered me the opportunity."

1. How do you describe your game, both in terms of what you do well and what needs to be improved?

"I think I use my speed and my smarts really well and see the ice in order to make people around me better. Maybe a couple things I need to work on would be just winning more battles and getting stronger. You can always get bigger, stronger and faster. That comes off the ice.."

2. There are an endless number of NHL players you can take pointers from, but who do you really like to focus on watching?

"In the NHL, probably one of my favourite players is Sidney Crosby. He's one of the best players in the game and just does everything the right way. All the stuff he does on the ice with the puck is just incredible. And just the way he carries himself off the ice as well.

"Last year I got a chance to go to Game 7 between Pittsburgh and the [New York] Rangers. That was pretty nice."

3. What other sports did you participate in during your early years and how have those helped you later on as a hockey player?

"I played a ton of sports growing up — I played baseball, football up until high school. I think it just helps you as an athlete. You want to play as much sports as you can and build athleticism and be as strong as possible.

"Maybe you also become able to connect situations in different sports and help build your confidence. In certain situations under pressure I think that can really help in hockey."

4. Which team do you pick for the NHL15 video game?

"It's probably a toss-up between Pittsburgh or the Ottawa Senators. I'm a huge Erik Karlsson fan. Wheel around with him on the ice."

5. Where is your favourite road rink in the USHL?

"Probably have to go with Lincoln. The atmosphere there is just unbelievable. It's always a great crowd."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.