For a 16 year old, Jeremy Morin has a lot of options.

But if he has his way, he'll just stick with the family business - which just happens to be hockey.

“It's what we do,” Morin said. “We play hockey, and we pretty much want to make that a career, so we put a lot into it.

“I knew when I was putting (all that practice time) in that I would eventually get something out of it.”

Boy, was he right.

Morin was selected as one of 22 players to skate for the United States national hockey team. He'll leave Auburn this month for Ann Arbor, Mich., to represent his country for two years in ice rinks around the world in the under-17 division.

The selection isn't much of a surprise.

First of all, there's his family background. His cousin J.D. Forrest spent two years with the organization and went on to win a NCAA championship for Boston College.

He is now in the Carolina Hurricanes organization.

Jeremy's brother, Chad, followed suit with the U.S. national team and now skates for Harvard.

“That really inspired me, so I tried to follow (their) footsteps,” Morin said.

So completing the family hat trick is the 6-foot, 175-pound winger, who has a background of his own.

Morin has been a prolific scorer since he laced up his skates at just 4.

Playing for the Syracuse Stars AAA organization the last six years, he has three consecutive state championships under his belt and was the leading scorer three years in a row.

Last season, he was named Rookie of the Year in the Eastern Junior Hockey League after ranking among the top 10 scorers. He was also 15 and playing against players whose average age was 19.

“Jeremy has an innate ability to find a seam in the defensive zone coverage and when he gets the puck, there is a good chance he's going to score a goal,” said Bob Turow, director of central scouting and recruiting for the USHL. “His speed allows him to jump into these scoring areas and his quick release and heavy shot leave a goalie defenseless.”

So it was never really a question of whether or not he was going to play hockey. The question was, where?

In May, he was drafted by the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League - which has produced such NHL stars as Eric Lindros and Jason Spezza - with the 69th overall pick. But Morin said it wasn't for him. Not yet, anyway.

“The OHL was pushing pretty hard,” Morin said. “I just decided the USA was the right place to go right now.”

After his two years in the USHL, he'll still be eligible to play in the OHL, but the other option is college hockey. Either one is a good road to the ultimate goal: the NHL.

Morin wears No. 11 in honor of Mark Messier, who captained the New York Rangers - his favorite team - to the 1994 Stanley Cup. Morin would love to don a Rangers sweater, but he has an even loftier goal - one that involves another red, white and blue jersey.

“Other than playing in the NHL, being a part of the Olympic team would be a huge honor,” Morin said of his career goals.

Still, the phenom isn't getting ahead of himself. He knows he's still proving himself, but that doesn't shake his confidence.

“I'm really excited for it,” Morin said. “This is definitely the next step, and I'm definitely ready to do it.”