Bishop Canevin's Josh Daley has been compared to the Pittsburgh Penguins' Jordan Staal.

He has the same kind of height as the Penguins' third line center (6-foot-3) and the same kind of build (as of now, he is at 170 pounds).

On the ice, Daley also has the undeniable reach with the stick that other hockey players wish they had.

And Shjon Podein, who won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, has watched Daley play. Podein, who is Daley's advisor, believes the 17-year-old can be in the NHL by his early-20s.

"He believes he has the talent to do it," said Daley's dad, Walt.

Daley, who signed a tender letter last week with the Owatonna Express, a junior hockey league team in Minnesota, also had 89 goals and 71 assists in 76 games played for Canevin. This alone was enough to get eight teams in the North American Hockey League interested in Daley, including Owatonna.

Other teams in the United States Hockey League, such as the Des Moines Buccaneers and Green Bay Gamblers, also remain interested.

Now that he signed the letter with Owatonna, Daley must cease all contact with other North American Hockey League teams. Daley, however, has larger plans.

"I am thinking of going to the (Ontario Hockey League) and college. I want to get an education," Daley said.

The senior had offers to sign with a hockey organization during his junior year at Bishop Canevin. However, he wanted to stay and graduate from high school.

"I wanted to graduate with my class and my friends. It was too early for me to leave at 14 or 15," he said.

Daley would like to eventually end up in the National Hockey League.

His dad thinks he can get there.

"I think he has the talent. Everyone seems to think he can do it," Walt Daley said. "It will take some (determination) on his part. We'll see."

A quiet, soft-spoken person off the ice, Daley has the numbers and the skill to get where he is now. He is an excellent penalty killer and his work on the power play cannot be overstated.

But there are other reasons why his name spread like wildfire around the hockey world.

The list of MVPs on his resume is endless. And this past year, Daley led Canevin with 37 goals and 29 assists in 24 games.

He also tied for the lead on his AAA Pittsburgh Predator Travel Hockey team with 41 goals and 29 assists in 65 games.

Now, it is on to the future. In September, Daley will find himself at Owatonna, a team he decided on because of its closeness to many major NCAA Division I schools.

"I really enjoyed the fan support (at Canevin) and knowing that I was representing the school each game, which made it mean more than just winning a game."