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<div id="p1387742"><h2 class="test"><span id="ppt1387742">Hi, My Name Is ... Rhett Rakhshani</span></h2><p class="byline"><a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/bloggers/bruce-ciskie/" title="Bruce Ciskie"><img src="http://www.blogsmithcdn.com/avatar/images/327/288524_64.jpg" alt="Bruce Ciskie" height="40" width="40" /></a>Posted Dec 2nd 2008 8:00AM by <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/bloggers/bruce-ciskie/">Bruce Ciskie</a> <span class="author-feed">(<a href="http://www.fanhouse.com/bloggers/bruce-ciskie/rss.xml" >author feed</a>)</span><br />Filed under: <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/category/islanders/">Islanders</a>, <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/category/nhl-eastern-conference/">Eastern</a>, <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/category/general-nhl/">NHL General</a>, <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/category/nhl-draft/">NHL Draft</a></p><div class="post" id="1387742"><em><a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/tag/himynameis/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" align="right" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/nhl.fanhouse.com/media/2008/12/rhett-rakhshani.gif" /><BR><font size=2.5>Hi, My Name is ...</a> appears weekly on NHL FanHouse. We will spotlight future NHL prospects currently making a name for themselves in college hockey. Where applicable, the players' draft rights will be listed. Check back each Tuesday at 8AM ET. Please post in the comments section if you have a nomination, or if you feel the author really blew it this week.</em><br /><br />I touched <a href="http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2008/11/25/hi-my-name-is-james-vanriemsdyk/" target="_blank">last week</a> on the story of the Air Force Academy's men's hockey team. The Falcons have made the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons, so they are no strangers to making the show. However, practically everyone was caught off-guard by their 13-0-0 start this year, especially after that 13th win, which came Friday at the expense of nationally-ranked Colorado College.<br /><br />CC and Saturday's opponent, Denver, are likely to be the only two ranked opponents that Air Force faces before the NCAA Tournament. While the Falcons kept the unbeaten season alive against Colorado College, they didn't have the same fortune against Denver.<br /><br />The Pioneers took out Air Force 4-1 in Denver, and they did it thanks to another strong game from junior forward <strong>Rhett Rakhshani</strong> (NHL rights: N.Y. Islanders).<a name="cont"></a><br /><br />Rakhshani scored twice in that game Saturday, giving him seven on the season. He now has 31 goals and 77 points in his DU career, and while his play can be inconsistent, there's no doubting his ability. <B>Rakhshani can play the point on the power play, he has great vision of the ice, and he's blessed with great speed. He's part of one of the more impressive groups of forwards in the WCHA, along with junior</b> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tyler Ruegsegger</span> (Toronto) and sophomores <span style="font-weight: bold;">Tyler Bozak</span> and <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kyle Ostrow</span> (undrafted).<br /><br />(Keep Bozak's name in your mind, as he should be a coveted free agent when he decides he's ready.)<br /><br /><B>With the Islanders not likely to make a prolonged playoff run this year, it makes sense that they may try to bring in some more young talent in the spring. While I am never going to be surprised by a player's decision to sign with a pro team and leave school early, I'm not sure I'd tab Rakhshani as a shoo-in for an early departure.</b> <br /><br />Really went out on a limb there, didn't I?<br /><br /></font></div>
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