Make no mistake about it, 2012 NHL Entry Draft eligible defenseman Mathew Dumba has heard his comparisons to Dion Phaneuf.

But he’d like to offer you a more accurate description of the blueliner he’s trying to portray.

“Dion was great in Red Deer and I like that comparison there, but I like Drew Doughty,” said Dumba, who has five points in eight games this season. “He’s a guy I’d like to model my game after. He’s a great young defenseman in the NHL. Why not?”

The skating, spin-o-rama’s and offensive flair both possess certainly lend the comparison.

Dumba may have the edge on Doughty in one particular characteristic – conditioning.

“We always joke as a coaching staff before he leaves here when he’s 18, 19, he’s going to play 60 minutes one night,” Rebels head coach Jesse Wallin said. “He never seems to get tired. He conditions himself very well. We want to use him here as much as we can.”

It comes from Dumba’s understanding that he needs to work every day in order to get to Doughty’s level.

“Just continuous improvement every day, just working hard in practice making sure I’m never taking a day off,” Dumba said. “Doing something every day that will help me throughout the season whether that’s stretching or shooting pucks or stickhandling.”

Already a projected top-10 pick, Dumba needs that continuous improvement to compare to Doughty’s second overall selection in 2008.

In eight months, Dumba can see how he measures up to his model.

Aaron Vickers is the managing editor of Future Considerations and can be found on Twitter. For all the latest Future Considerations news and posts, follow FC’s Official Twitter Feed, on YouTube and on Facebook!