Rebecca Gilmore has good speed on the ice and is strong enough to win her share of 50-50 battles. But the biggest asset the 5-foot-6, 16-year-old forward brings to the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team might be the way she sees a hockey game.

It’s hard for her to describe, but she says she’s always “looking to make plays.”

Her mind is zipping along at an even faster rate than her skates, and her vision is exceptional.

“I try to make plays and anticipate, kind of see the developing pattern on the ice,” she said. “I think that’s one of my strengths. And I have phenomenal teammates who are able to read and react to what I see as well.”

That vision on the ice is a major reason she was selected to play on the U.S. team that took silver in the IIHF U18 World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in March as a 15-year-old — one of the youngest on the team — and why she’ll be a part of the U.S. team again at the U18 World Championships in Buffalo, N.Y., beginning Jan. 5.

“Becca brings an understanding of the game that few players have,” U.S. coach Joel Johnson said. “She’s one of the smartest hockey players on the ice. She sees plays happening often times well in advance. So the thing now with Becca is, now that she’s had a couple of years of experience with the USA U18 team program, I’m excited to see her take ownership and really become a dynamic player and be a positive contributor for the tournament.

“She’s got all the tools necessary to do that. … I’m really anticipating some great things out of Becca this tournament.”

Reagan Carey, director of the women’s national program for USA Hockey, calls Gilmore “a gritty forward” and says she’s one of a handful of players back after experiencing at least one world championship who should be able to provide a leadership core.

Gilmore feels the same way.

The sophomore from Wayland, Mass. — who plays for the Nobles & Greenough School program in Dedham, Mass., and also for the Assabet Valley Girls Ice Hockey Program — said she felt a bit out of place and intimidated when she made her first U18 team.

But she said her older teammates were exceptionally welcoming, and the experience she achieved practicing with them accelerated her learning.

Now she feels much more comfortable and understands what the talent and the games will be like.

“From my experience being one of the youngest kids on the team, it’s helped me grow as a leader and a player,” Gilmore said. “Because I’ve been able to learn from the older girls the way they train and the way they compete every day in practice and games.”

Losing to Canada in the championship game in Budapest also gives Gilmore plenty of motivation, especially now that the U.S. will get to host.

“It’s a remarkable opportunity to get to play on your home turf,” she said. She hopes American crowds (including her family, which will come out from New England) can give them an extra edge.

She said Team USA can’t “let any team come here and kind of throw you around in our own [country]. [We] want to take it to them and show them this is our time.”

Gilmore has been playing since she was small, following the example of her older brother, Ben. She’s also following in the footsteps of her mother, Deb, who was playing hockey at Bowdoin College in Maine long before women’s college hockey reached the levels it has today.

“One of the things you learn at USA Hockey is how grateful we should be to the pioneers of the sport, because women’s hockey wasn’t as popular that long ago,” Gilmore said. “It’s kind of neat where I come from a family where my mom did play.”

Story from Red Line Editorial, Inc.