NHL draft tracker: Brian Cooper, Fargo Force

There is a temptation to ask Brian Cooper how long he's been an undersized defenceman.

The Fargo Force defender is listed at 5-foot-10 and 184 pounds, but earned a reputation as an open-ice checker across his three seasons in the USHL. Being a smaller defender could make NHL teams edgy about drafting him early, but the Anchorage, Alaska native is used to dealing with those doubts.

"I just show my confidence," says Cooper, who is NHL Central Scouting's 68th-ranked North American skater. "I use it to my advantage. I'm small, but I have a low centre of gravity. I get lots of speed coming up and powering through guys. I just leave it up to them whether they see my size as a strength or weakness."

Cooper, who turned 18 last November, served as the Force's captain for the past two seasons. He showed a modicum of offensive spark this past winter, judging from the six goals and 24 points he posted in 55 games for Fargo in the frequently tight-checking USHL. He could prove to be a good value pick for a NHL team, perhaps in the late third or fourth round. In the long term,

Cooper, who was named the USHL's top scholar-athlete on Tuesday, is headed off to join the NCAA's University of Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks. He will play for former Fargo coach Dean Blais, who famously coached Team USA to the world junior gold medal in 2010. If Cooper's career trajectory takes off at Omaha, then whoever drafts him this summer will suddenly look very smart.

"Blais has kind of got an old-school style of play," says Cooper, who represented the U.S. at the 2011 World Junior A Challenge in Langley, B.C., helping Uncle Sam claim the bronze medal. "Grind it out defensively but give you some freedom offensively."

1. What kind of opportunity do you expect this season at Nebraska-Omaha?

"It'll be fun. I'm hoping to go in and make an impact right away, show them that I want to play and earn my ice time. Go in and further my development. If I'm there one year, if I'm there four, I'm not complaining. I know I'm going to be there with a great group of guys. Blais is known for developing players."

2. As a two-year captain in Fargo, how do you feel you grew as a player?

"I understood my game a little bit more — kind of know my role, what I need to do, which is to help out my team more defensively than offensively. I simplified my game a lot more. Hopefully I can continue that going on to Omaha."

3. What was the toughest battle for you in the USHL?

"More so just the speed along with every team being so tough. It's not a league where there's a lot of goals. You just have to grind it out. You have to handle school, going for weekend games. This year we had a span of eight points between first and fourth so it was a fight for playoffs."

4. Which NHL defencemen do you watch closely?

"I don't really watch one specific person because there's no one who's too much like me [as a smaller defender]. There is someone like [the Vancouver Canucks'] Keith Ballard, a skilled defenceman who handles the puck well. I more so just watch everyone to see if I can point out their mistakes and what they did well."

5. What do you do when you need to completely unplug from thinking hockey 24/7?

"Just relax. I know how to golf a little bit, but it's all about relaxing, taking a mental break more than anything."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Contact him at neatesager@yahoo.ca and follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.