Ottawa 67′s Tyler Hill, at 6-foot-6, is an intriguing newcomer with a tall challenge ahead

A young man who rocks a pink bow tie for a post-game autograph session is clearly at ease.

Okay, so it's a little hacky to link Ottawa 67's wing Tyler Hill's personal style with the big man's hockey prospects. But how the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Hagersville, Ont., native adapts to major junior as an 18-year-old rookie might hinge on his comfort with getting all the moving parts to do what he wants. Hill, who's come to a rebuilding 67's team desperate for a big-bodied wing with supple hands, is confident it's come together. He notes that self-assurance was fleeting over the past two seasons that he spent at The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut and the USHL's Chicago Steel, which is why he was bypassed in his first crack at the NHL draft.'

"Definitely there were some times in the past couple years when I felt clumsy on my skates," says Hill, whom the 67's experimented with on a line with 16-year-old phenom Travis Konecny during their preseason opener on Tuesday, a 4-1 loss against the Kingston Frontenacs at Kemptville, Ont. "I think I've finally stopped growing, topped out at 6-6. I feel like it's all coming together now, my feet and just being more powerful all-around. I put on 15 pounds this summer. I still have to put on a little more weight.

"It was kind of late in the game for me to decide [to commit to the OHL]," adds Hill, who counted six goals and 12 points in 30 games with Chicago after spending a season and a half at Hotchkiss. "But I just felt Ottawa was the best place for me to develop. Just the couple weeks that I've been here so far have been very beneficial and I'm looking forward to the season's start."

Ahead of their second and final year of the '68 road games for the 67's' phase, Ottawa has some decent centre-ice depth with Konecny, 19-year-old Colorado Avalanche selection Joseph Blandisi and sophomore Dante Salituro. The wing spots are less spoken for. If Hill pans out, he could help Ottawa salvage a relatively fruitless 2011 priority-selection crop. The 67's took him in the fifth round two springs ago.

"He's got good hands, this is obviously going to be a big test for him — playing in the OHL," 67's associate coach/assistant GM Misha Donskov says. "He's going to be put into a situation where he's going to have a lot of opportunity. We expect him to create a lot of depth for our hockey club, to use his size and take pucks to the net, create some offence for us.

"Because of his size, because of his reach, Tyler can take pucks to the net," Donskov adds. "He scored some really nice goals in training camp off the cycle, rolling off the guys, rolling off the D and finishing. We'll see where he settles into in the exhibition games."

Early Konecny connection

Hill will be a project for Ottawa, of course. Based on how much rope he was given in the first exhibition tilt — he drew a hearty ovation for blocking two rocket point shots while deployed on the 67's penalty kill — Ottawa wants to see what it has here.

"Coach [Chris] Byrne basically said, 'there's a lot of opportunity for you to come in and be an important aspect of this team.' I basically just spent my summer thinking about it and it came down to my decision with the help of my parents [dad Brandon and mother Lisa]. We're very confident moving forward."

That included skating longside Konecny on what looked like a bit of an odd-couple line, with the towering winger and a compactly built speedster at centre. That combo could offer something as the year unfolds, particularly on a power play that will likely have to replace its catalyst, Calgary Flames first-rounder Sean Monahan.

"It was really good playing with him, he's a good little player," Hill says of Konecny. "I'm a big kid, I can get his back as a younger guy, he's a really powerful player, really good down low. I feel like we complement each other's game."

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.