Wild prospect Alex Tuch is confident when talking about his goal of making the NHL roster this season. So, it shouldn’t come as surprise that the 20-year-old has lofty goals for the 2016 NHL Prospects Tournament in Traverse City, Mich.

“I’m looking to showcase myself this weekend and really show Minnesota that I’m ready to make that step,” he said. “I want to be one of the best prospects in the tournament.”

Tuch flashed that potential at a prospects practice at the Xcel Energy Center on Thursday afternoon with head coach Bruce Boudreau and assistant coaches John Anderson and Scott Stevens watching from the stands.

Amid more than 20 players on the ice, Tuch wasn’t hard to spot. He plans to play the same way in the tournament, which starts on Friday and ends on Tuesday.

“It’ll be a really good way to … show them I’m one of the best, if not the best, prospect in the tournament,” he said.

Wild prospects will compete against eight other teams this weekend. They will play the Carolina Hurricanes, Dallas Stars and New York Rangers in the Ted Lindsay Division, while the other teams — the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues — will compete in the Gordie Howe Division.

The teams play divisional opponent in a round-robin format before a crossover on the final day.

“I think everyone knows, ‘Oh, Traverse City, Traverse City,’ ” Tuch said. “It’s eight teams, and usually the top teams in the NHL have teams that go there. It’s a lot of really highly touted prospects.”

Tuch falls into that category. He spent the past two years at Boston College after the Wild selected him 18th overall in the 2014 NHL Draft, recording 18 goals and 16 assists in a sophomore season that ended in the NCAA Frozen Four.

Tuch said his career at Boston College, coupled with his stint on the National Team Development Program, proves he can compete at the NHL level.

“I’m a big, strong power forward who can shoot the puck,” he said. “I can play with the Top 6.”

In the development program, Tuch played on a line with Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sonny Milano.

“We were probably one of the more successful lines ever to come through there,” he said. “I know I can play that Top 6 role with those skilled forwards and create space for them and get pucks to the net and get in front of the net on the power play and things like that.”

For most players, Traverse City is a chance to make a good first impression, such as Wild prospects Mario Lucia and Nick Seeler.

“Not only for the organization we’re with, also for other organization if it doesn’t work out with the people we’re with,” said Lucia, a forward who played four seasons at Notre Dame. “It’s good to get the feet wet a little bit.”

“We are coming there to win and show other teams what we have,” said former Gophers defenseman Seeler. “I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of competing out there. I’m sure guys are going to be finishing their checks, trying to show what they have. That’s why these tournaments are exciting.”

Iowa Wild coach Derek Lalonde, hired this offseason to replace John Torchetti, will coach the prospects. Emphasizing that he’s been impressed with the pace of play in Traverse City in the past, Lalonde said he’s excited to watch many of his players play together for the first time.

“They start taking the ownership of, ‘Now I’m a Minnesota Wild and I’m playing against the Dallas Stars, I’m playing against the New York Rangers,’ ” he said. “That’s something I preach early on. I talk to the guys about starting to take the identity that they are now a Minnesota Wild. You stick up for teammates. You play team hockey. You get excited when a teammate does something good. You play for each other.”

It’s also a chance for players to learn on the fly with training camp looming on Sept. 23, and maybe even bringing home a trophy.

“(The Wild) haven’t had the most amount of success in the last few years in Traverse City,” Tuch said. “So, we hope to turn that around and bring back a championship for the Minnesota Wild to show we’re going to be good this season and in the future.”

As for his chances of making the Wild at the start of the season?

“I feel like if I come and play my game, play to my full potential, I feel like I can make the team.” he said.