Even in a room of 23 of the NHL's top prospects, Nazem Kadri stands out.
Or, rather, his attitude does.
Hockey has been blessed since the lockout with an incredible influx of young talent, a group of wunderkinds like Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews and Mike Richards who have shone on the ice, won some hardware and played internationally.
But they've also drawn criticism for being bland, for filling the role of the prototypical, modest Canadian star as Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and so many others have before them.
And that's not Kadri.
Drafted seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs fourteen months ago, the London, Ont., native with a Lebanese background often straddles the line between confident and cocky - often with interesting results.
So it was on Tuesday afternoon at a media meet and greet for an NHL 11 video game tournament, where Kadri chirped a few of his fellow prospects en route to the semi-finals and boasted about his own on-ice skills matching those in the game.
On Wednesday, as the young stars gathered in Toronto for the NHL Players' Association's "rookie showcase," Kadri again was front and centre - not only because of the jersey he wore, but because he had something to say.
He didn't seem to mind answering, for one, a question about when he'd buy his first Ferrari - "next few years, I hope" - and said if he wasn't a hockey player, he'd aspire to be a player agent.
"I think that's kind of what you need to make it to the NHL," Kadri said of his attitude. "You've got to be confident in yourself. That's part of the game.
"Guys are going to try to get under your skin and that's kind of the mental toughness of the game. Yeah I'm a pretty gritty player and I'm going to carry that on to the NHL, but I'm not going to change the way I play. I'm just going to play the same way."
What has changed already for Kadri is his size, long a concern when it came to his NHL potential. Listed at six feet tall and 167 pounds while with the OHL's London Knights, Kadri said he is up to 188 pounds after a summer of training with the Leafs conditioning staff and feels he's more ready to play among men.
He didn't take any time off in the off-season, switched to a five meals a day diet and commuted four times a week into Toronto to workout with NHLers.
"It was all business this summer," Kadri said.
One of those giving him business advice heading into his training was Leafs GM Brian Burke, who Kadri said told him: "It's up to you from now on - you've got your foot in the door, it's time to knock it down."
Burke said Wednesday he was "impressed" with Kadri's added bulk. How he plays in training camp and early on in the year will likely determine if he spends time in the AHL this season.
"He will need to crack our top six to stay [in the NHL]" Burke said. "And my track record favours time in the AHL for players."
Burke pointed out that that was the route for three key members of the Anaheim Ducks during his time there, with Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry playing 148, 28 and 23 games, respectively, in the minors despite their relatively high profiles.
Kadri, however, was drafted higher than all three and is entering next week's rookie camp attempting to make a team low on top-six forwards. It's likely he'll get every chance to contribute given the Leafs could again be one of the league's lowest scoring teams.
If he doesn't, the Marlies aren't far away - or that bad of an option given the starring role he could take on in the AHL.
Not that finding his confidence appears to be an issue, even with all of the pressure on Toronto's latest top prospect.
"That's just what comes with the territory, what comes with playing in Toronto," Kadri said. "You've got to be able to handle the pressures and the criticisms and take it as constructive criticism. For me, I just thrive off of pressure. I really don't mind it. I think I rise to the occasion. So it's something I feel that I can handle, yeah."