"It happened so quickly for me; it was kind of a clear almost," said Storey, whose father Robert was an Olympic bobsledder for Canada in 1968 and 1972. "It was definitely a great experience and it showed me what the next level was like. I was just so young and I don't think that I was ready to play with Team Canada at the time."

It wasn't soon after that when Storey experienced yet another epochal hockey moment. This time, however, he left his hockey uniform at home.

Traveling to St. Louis with his family in tow, Storey waited anxiously to hear his name announced in the NHL draft. Finally in the fourth round, the Colorado Avalanche picked the young defenseman.

"Getting drafted was a great honor, but I learned that it really doesn't mean all that much when it is over and done with unless you really want it," Storey said. "I definitely want it, but right now I'm working on my game overall trying to mold it into something that will be able to survive and prosper in the NHL."

Dreams of a professional career will have to wait for a few more years, however. The only team that Storey is concentrating on at the moment is his struggling Harvard squad and it needs him more than ever.

So far this season, he has met the challenge by not only producing the best numbers of his career, but he has also become the Ray Bourque of the Crimson. He logs not only his regular shift, but he is the mainstay on both special team units.

"There is no question that he has stepped up this year and it's not just on the power play either," Tomassoni said. "He is focused and mature overall and his confidence is so high right now."

Through 15 games, Storey leads all ECAC defensemen in both points and points per game and is tied for third for the team lead in scoring. Those statistics become even more important considering that Harvard has yet to find not only a prolific scorer, but even a top line that can consistently put points on the board.

"It's important for us that the `D' is putting the puck in the net right now," said sophomore forward Brett Chodorow. "We have some big guns back there like Storey and if they're a threat outside, then that just opens up more space down low for us."

His slapshot has definitely created more opportunities for the offense, but unlike his first two years, Storey is no longer shy about taking the puck up ice himself.

Whether he is making an end-to-end rush or else keeping the puck in the zone deep in the corners, there is little area where Storey does not invade in the course of a game.

"Both of us have a tendency to jump into the offense, but it's been going well because we have trust in each other as partners," said Storey's freshman defensive partner Graham Morrell. "When one sees the other going forward, the other seems to know to stay back."

His play speaks for itself, but the area in which Storey has developed most goes unseen by most outsiders. It only takes one conversation with the Crimson defenseman to reveal a quiet, reserved individual who prefers to prove his worth on the ice rather than through words.

With such a young team along side him this year, however, Storey realized that he can no longer afford such a silent luxury and has become one of the teams most vocal leaders.

"He's been a big factor for the whole team," Morrell explained. "He's one of our leaders on the ice and he does a good job carrying that into the lockerroom."