Where he ends up remains to be seen, but Derek Stepan is starting his University of Wisconsin hockey career near the top of the forward depth chart.

Stepan was the only freshman among the top six forwards when practice began on Saturday, putting the second-round New York Rangers draft pick in a prominent position in the Badgers' offense right away.

Of course, that makes him a target of 10 other forwards in UW's 16-man roster at forward, where competition for playing time is expected to be fierce.

"Being in the top six forwards here, you've got to compete every single day because we've got forwards here that are going to be grinding for spots," Stepan said. "It's going to be a grind every day. It'll be good for you."

A quick connection with Badgers co-captain Ben Street may have helped Stepan, an 18-year-old winger, move to the top of the chart as No. 14 Wisconsin prepares to open the season at No. 1 Boston College on Friday and at No. 7 New Hampshire on Saturday.

He said he found chemistry with Street, one of the team's top two centers, during summer captain's practices. Street, a senior, confirmed it, saying it was relatively rare to have that happen so quickly.

"It just seems kind of natural," Street said. "We kind of know where each other is going to be on the ice, which has been a really cool thing. We've only really had captain's practices and a few team practices to try to work that out, but things have been pretty natural, and it's been lots of good chemistry there."

The Badgers, who will be using a scoring-by-committee approach in the assessment of coach Mike Eaves, will need as much chemistry as they can get.

Stepan is a product of the hockey factory at Shattuck-St. Mary's prep school in Minnesota, meaning he played around 65 games last season compared to about 25 for those who played in traditional high school leagues. Eaves said Shattuck, where Stepan played alongside fellow UW freshman Jordy Murray, ranks between a true high school team and a junior hockey team, making the jump to the college level a little shorter.

It's still a major hurdle, though.

"One of the things that has really helped my progression is that I'm maturing," Stepan said. "I'm starting to grow a little bit, starting to mature. Making the step from high school to here, it's obviously a huge step, and I haven't obviously experienced it quite yet, but we'll see soon here."

Called out

The Badgers got their first taste of playing in front of officials at a scrimmage Saturday, and it reportedly was an eye-opener for some players who were sent to the penalty box.

Officials are being told to call penalties when the puck carrier's hands or arms are impeded, an effort to restore some of the offense that has been lost in recent years.

"We can talk about the new rules and do them to some degree during the course of the practice, but in a game when it's live, you're going to go back to your old habits," Eaves said. "I think it was a first step in the right direction, having our guys understand what's going to be called and some of the new rules."