By Patrick King, Sportsnet.ca

Chris Carrozzi has always been known for his competitive drive but it wasn't until recently that his competitiveness began quenching his thirst.

Carrozzi, a 17-year-old goaltender for the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors, has earned a lot of respect around Ontario Hockey League circles for his play this season. Among those impressed by the sophomore is a teammate, Matt Caria, who has seen first-hand how tough Carrozzi can be to beat. After practice, the team's star forward can often be seen practicing one-on-one with the goaltender. What fans don't see is the bets the two make where the winner is awarded a Gatorade for his efforts.

"I've probably bought him most of the drinks," Caria conceded.

All bets aside, Carrozzi approached his second season in the OHL looking to earn the starting job in Mississauga. Although he now has a new head coach to impress in Dave Cameron, Carrozzi proved he was up to the challenge and hasn't looked out of place early this season. Carrozzi is among the league leaders in almost every statistical category and while some might be surprised by his emergence, the team's goaltending coach certainly isn't one of them.

"I've believed in Chris since last year," said Jon Elkin, the Majors' goaltending coach. "I realized his ability at a young age that he would be able to be a first string goalie in the OHL. The season's still young and we'll see what he can do but so far so good."

Elkin, who has been a goaltending coach at every level, was first introduced to Carrozzi four years ago through his world-class goalie school. The two have worked closely since then where Carrozzi has impressed Elkin by his commitment and dedication.

"He's got the attitude that he wants to be the best he can be," Elkin said. "I'd rank him in the top goaltenders as far as his work ethic and his desire to play pro hockey."

"A lot of my credit should be going to Jon Elkin," Carrozzi admitted. "He's helped me develop a lot."

At six-foot-two and 185 pounds, Carrozzi takes up a lot of net. While his size is an obvious advantage, Carrozzi's biggest asset is something Elkin said isn't always easy to learn.

"Chris' best asset is he's calm and poised," he said. "That's a huge thing with goaltenders. It's tough to teach but if you can be calm and poised under pressure and still keep your head on your shoulders and read the play and make the right decisions, that's pretty big and Chris is very poised."

Carrozzi, who's in his first year of eligibility for the National Hockey League draft, maintains his biggest goal this season is to help the Majors get back to the playoffs. With that being said, he does have personal goals, one of which is to be drafted by an NHL team next June in Ottawa, Ont.

But if you were to think the pressure of being a top prospect for the NHL draft and being watched closely by NHL scouts on a nightly basis would make the product of Nepean, Ont. nervous, you certainly don't know him.

"It's not added pressure," Carrozzi said, "It motivates me to work harder."

"He's pretty unfazed by whatever is going on around him," Elkin said. "I don't think he focuses on scouts watching him. I think he's focusing on how he can get better every day and what he needs to do to be successful in a game."

Another focus is earning victories for his team. Given how hard Carrozzi works and how much confidence he instills in his teammates, his veteran teammate said it only helps drive the rest of the team to match his intensity and reward him with a win.

"He gives us an opportunity to win (every night)," Caria said. "We want to do everything we can because we know he's going to do everything he can to stop teams from scoring."

When asked if he could pick one accomplishment to achieve in his OHL career, Carrozzi, always team-oriented, said it was to lead his team to a championship.

"That's what I've been trying to develop and improve on," he said. "I think I'm on my way to becoming that goaltender that can provide a team with an OHL championship and a Memorial Cup."

But until that time comes, Carrozzi will continue quenching his thirst through victories in practice before quenching it with the sweetest taste of all: a championship.