When Paul Selleck’s teammates have played follow the leader the path usually ends up taking them to the USA Hockey Nationals.

The forward is headed to Nationals this week for the fourth time in five seasons and for the second year in a row with the Jr. Ducks Midget 18U AAA team. He has captained three of those teams and was an assistant captain last season.

Coaches past and present within the club rave about Selleck’s leadership ability.

“He demands a lot out of himself, his teammates and his coaches. He has the team’s best interests in mind at all times,” said his 16U coach Alex Kim, also the Jr. Ducks’ director of player personnel. “He’s never been selfish.

“He’s been a captain four of the last five years. … That says a lot about how his peers view him as well as the coaching staff. His leadership qualities are some of the best I’ve seen as a coach.”

When the 18U team faced a win-or-go-home scenario three games in a row at the Pacific Districts last month in Alaska it was Selleck who steadied the team, 18U coach August Aiken said.

“How he helped prepare the team before games helped,” Aiken said. “He knows what it takes. His teammates all listened because they look up to Paul.

“Our team chemistry has been unbelievable all year thanks to the leadership of Paul, Brandon Bergado, Ryan Gil and Greg Lee.”

Selleck takes a low-key approach to leading, an approach that can be summed up in two words.

“Hard work has been huge for me,” he said. “That’s always under my control. My work ethic I learned from my parents (Dan and Karen), seeing them work like crazy so I can play the game I love.

“Hard work is one of the biggest things, and encouraging others, my teammates feed off that. … In the end it revolves and leading by example.”

Selleck’s skill set goes beyond the soft skills, however. He led the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League’s 18U division in scoring with 50 points this season.

“First and foremost, he’s a student of the game. He has a willingness to learn,” Kim said. “You know what to expect with Paul. He has a very high hockey IQ. He competes extremely hard. Not just in games, but in practice. You never have to question his work ethic.

“Being the Tier 1 Elite League’s leading scorer was a testament to all of the hard work he’s put in. It’s a great reward for him. It’s the first time (the Jr. Ducks have) had a leading scorer in that league. Justin Dixson won it in the NAPHL in 2015, but Paul wasn’t far behind.  Paul has always been a consistent offensive player.

“The other aspect to his game is he plays well defensively. You can put him out at crucial times in the game. Trying to protect the lead or trying to tie the score, he’s a player you want on the ice.”

Selleck, who graduated last year from Laguna Hills High School, first went to the Tier 1 Nationals in 2013 with the Jr. Ducks’ Bantam AAA team coached by Patrik Stefan. The team had emerged from a triple-overtime thriller against the Los Angeles Jr. Kings at Districts – in Alaska, ironically enough – to punch their ticket to … Pittsburgh. That run stands out in Selleck’s mind.

“My favorite memory was winning states at Bantam AAA – that’s always a goal no matter what level,” Selleck said. “It was my first one in my fourth year playing for Patrik. It was really nice to win that first one against a very talented Jr. Kings team. Then to beat them a month later in triple OT in for a district championship was special. We got outplayed but we showed the toughness we had to win that. Brady Newton scored the winning goal and I had tying goal late. Garrett Nieto stood on his head that game.”

He and his 1998 birth year group returned in 2015 with the Midget 16U team. He went back last season in his first season at 18U under coach Larry Barron. Selleck said he has benefitted from each of his Jr. Ducks coaches.

“I try to take in as much as I can with each coach,” Selleck said. “Patrik was really special for me, helping me develop in Pee Wees and Bantams. Going in I was lower on the depth chart. He showed a lot of confidence in me. I learned to play with confidence and trust in my abilities.

“The two years with Alex took me another step. He thinks game differently than any other coaches in terms of ways to react. Alex is a great skills coach. I still work with him. He’s been huge for my development, giving me plenty of opportunity to work on my skill.

“Larry obviously is a skills coach for the Ducks, so you know he’s good, but he’s also a really good skating coach, too. I learned different views on edge work. His rules on trips were structured, like junior.

“August is a really good coach who is easy to talk to. He was similar to me, a smaller guy who was fast. He put up a lot of points in junior in the BCHL and still has connections there.”

Selleck’s ‘98 Jr. Ducks cohort has four players who have made Division I college commitments already (Jack Gates and Chad Sasaki to Colorado College, Patrick Choi to Bentley and Justin Dixson to UMass-Amherst). Three more former teammates are in the Tier 1 junior BCHL, which is Selleck’s preferred destination next season.

But first there is this matter of a return trip to Pittsburgh.

“The last time my team went we had two big wins in our first two games – against the Connecticut Wolfpack and the Colorado Thunderbirds,” he said. “We lost the third game but went to the quarterfinals. We lost to the Jr. Blues, 4-2, who had (2016 NHL first-round pick) Logan Brown on their team.

“This year I’d like to go further.”

- Chris Bayee