Defenseman Ryan McDonagh stayed home for his senior year at Cretin-Derham Hall, turning down a chance to play for the U.S. national developmental team in Ann Arbor, Mich., but the decision apparently hasn't hurt his NHL draft prospects. He is the top Minnesota high school prospect and is expected to go in the first round. (JOHN DOMAN, Pioneer Press)

Ryan McDonagh's high school hours rush by like pavement under the bus carrying his Cretin-Derham Hall teammates to their baseball game Wednesday at Mounds View.

Senior prom has come and gone. Classes end next Friday. Commencement follows May 21. Next month, McDonagh turns 18, and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will introduce Minnesota Mr. Hockey to the world, rocketing his heralded career into a new orbit.

McDonagh is the top-ranked Minnesotan and high school player available in the 2007 draft, a projected first-round selection who might be among the early names called to the Nationwide Arena podium June 23 in Columbus, Ohio.

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman has committed to the University of Wisconsin and Badgers hockey, so serious changes in competition and lifestyle loom regardless of which NHL team acquires his rights.

A bright future, certainly, but it can wait just a little longer as McDonagh cruises north on Interstate 35E pondering the final days of his senior year and baseball career.

"It goes by so fast, I'm just trying to enjoy every day and the whole experience while I can," McDonagh said. "I wouldn't change it for anything. I'm so happy I stayed and finished out my senior year at Cretin, being able to play ball. It's just been an awesome year."

McDonagh raised the eyebrows of hockey observers last fall when he declined an invitation to play with many of the country's best college and junior prospects on the U.S. national development

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team in Ann Arbor, Mich. The program plays a more advanced schedule than that of Cretin's Suburban East Conference, and it churns out draft choices by the dozen.

But McDonagh did not want to leave his classmates and relatives in Arden Hills or break a family legacy at his school.

His uncle, Steve Walsh, played for the Raiders, was an All-America quarterback for the University of Miami and played 11 seasons in the NFL. His grandfather Bill Walsh won 12 varsity letters at Cretin.

McDonagh's commitment allowed him to enjoy the best of both worlds. He put together a fantastic senior season with the Raiders, scoring 14 goals among 40 points to earn the state's top honor in high school hockey.

USA Hockey called again in April, asking McDonagh to play in the world under-18 championships in Finland. No way was he going to pass up a chance to play against his peers and showcase his skills for pro scouts in the final dress rehearsal before the draft, even though it meant McDonagh had to miss the first six games of Cretin's baseball season.

"I just wanted to prove to myself that I could play against the so-called top players in the world and do well against them," he said. "I did it more for myself than for the scouts."

He was one of Team USA's best defensemen during the tournament, according to coach Ron Rolston.

He finished with three assists in seven games, played on the power play, killed penalties and matched up against top lines in key situations. The Americans won the silver medal after losing to Russia 6-5 in the final.

"Physically, he has all the tools to be a top defenseman, but he's also a competitor," Rolston said. "He loves the one-on-one battles. He did a great job for us."

McDonagh is rated 12th among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Service's final ranking released last month.

Scouts describe him as the ideal defenseman - big, nasty and agile. He has a hard and accurate shot, and his passes are professionally accurate. He measures the ice like a forward with deceptive speed that allows him to lead the rush and beat defenders at the blue line.

"He's like a one-man breakout," said Mike McGraw, who scouts Midwest amateurs for the Boston Bruins.

More impressive is how McDonagh is unafraid to push the envelope to maximize his talent and how easily he recovers from blunders, a trait that allows premier defensemen to survive in a sport defined by mistakes.

"He'll make a bad read in a game or a bad play in his own end, but he'll only do it once," added McGraw.

The knock against McDonagh was that he sometimes tried to do too much, hanging onto the puck instead of trusting an often lesser-talented teammate to carry it. That should diminish with maturity and a stronger supporting cast at Wisconsin.

As a freshman, McDonagh will room with Canadian forward Kyle Turris, the top-rated North American skater. Badgers coach Mike Eaves is a taskmaster whose teams are notoriously strong defensively and play within a disciplined system.

"After that last game against Russia, I realized I wouldn't be playing another game until I'm wearing a Badger uniform," said McDonagh, who committed to Wisconsin more than a year ago. "It's the next thing to look forward to, meeting a whole bunch of new guys and starting all over in a sense."

But McDonagh has a few more things to check off his summer to-do list.

Foremost is getting the Raiders back to the state baseball tournament. They are 11-2 (10-2 Suburban East), and McDonagh, a left-handed-hitting first baseman and designated hitter, is batting better than .400. The Raiders have won eight straight since he returned from Finland.

There is graduation and the traditional last supper Cretin teachers serve the senior class before the all-night lockdown party May 21.

And there is D-Day in Columbus, where his parents, Sean and Patty, brothers Colin and Quinn, and eight of McDonagh's closest friends will gather to celebrate his NHL coming-out party.

With no consensus No. 1 pick, this year's draft class is wide-open. McDonagh is projected to go at least in the top 20. But after watching the Brady Quinn reality soap opera play out live at the NFL draft, McDonagh refuses to set expectations.

"You feel like you could go in the top three and end up going 20th - it's not like 20 is bad necessarily - but why worry about it? I'm so thankful for everything going on for me that whatever happens at this point, it's all about the experience."

Brian Murphy can be reached at brianmurphy@pioneerpress.com.