When Kyle Turris makes his scheduled NHL debut Thursday night, it will represent all sorts of truths about the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team.

Some are admirable.

Some are hard.

Turris, an 18-year-old center with a gift for seeing the game in a special way, spent one season with UW before signing with Phoenix earlier this week. There are many facets to his decision, but a few stand out.

One is the Coyotes -- including coach Wayne Gretzky, the greatest player in NHL history -- wanted Turris in the fold as soon as possible because they believe the third overall pick in the 2007 entry draft is good enough to help them next season.

Hence the plan to have Turris skate in the final three games of the NHL regular season so he can better gauge the jump he 'll be asked to make in 2008-09.

Another is Turris, born and raised in western Canada, grew up driven by the dream of playing someday in the NHL.

When that opportunity presented itself, a U.S. college education and an NCAA title immediately paled on his list of priorities.

Turris is the sixth underclassman to leave for the pros in the six seasons since Mike Eaves became UW coach. Defenseman Ryan Suter, who left after his freshman season, and center Joe Pavelski, who departed after his sophomore year, have become established players in Nashville and San Jose, respectively.

That exodus is rooted mainly in the fact Eaves and assistants Mark Osiecki, Kevin Patrick and Bill Howard do a first-rate job getting players ready for the next level. When Gretzky says Eaves is the best at preparing college players for the NHL -- an opinion The Great One shared with the Turris family -- it carries an awful lot of weight.

While UW coaches had no clue Turris would be this good when he committed at 15, his presence is a sign Eaves and his staff recruit extremely well. Turris was one of three NHL first-rounders on the roster this season and it's possible 10 Badgers recruits could be drafted this summer.

But there is a flip-side to the Turris situation, one that says there are things Eaves and his staff could do better.

Start with this: North Dakota is making its fourth straight NCAA Frozen Four appearance even though it has lost six underclassmen to the pros since 2005-06.

While the Fighting Sioux haven't won a national title during that stretch, and UW did in 2006, there is a level of consistency there the Badgers have lacked en route to consecutive second-division finishes in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

North Dakota coaches have created a culture -- aided surely by the fact hockey is No. 1 on the campus marquee -- where even exceptional talents like Jonathan Toews, a third overall pick like Turris, and Zach Parise choose to spend more than one season before turning pro.

The Badgers have obviously done a great job finding bricks like Turris for the roster, but the key to consistency is the mortar of talent that will spend three or four years here.

That's where UW has a ways to go.