MOLINE, Ill. — Wherever he's played hockey, Nick DeCroo has put the puck in the net.

The 2005 Freeport graduate scored 47 goals with the Yellowjackets as a freshman. He played the next three seasons with the Pittsburgh Amateur Hornets, recording two 30-goal seasons and a 50-goal campaign.

As a junior at Division III Hobart (N.Y.) College, DeCroo scored 20 goals in 29 games. He scored 39 goals in his Hobart career and holds the school record of eight career short-handed goals.

Now, the 6-foot-3, 220-pound winger faces his biggest challenge: becoming a goal scorer as a professional.

DeCroo, 24, recently signed with the Quad City Mallards of the Central Hockey League for the 2010-11 season.

"I've been able to score goals at every level so far," DeCroo said. "Usually, it's by power moves to the net, getting a step on the defenseman."

That won't be so easy in the CHL. The Mallards were affiliated with the Philadelphia Flyers last season and were part of the Calgary Flames' system from 2004-09.

This year, they are an independent team, as are all CHL franchises.

"It's Double-A level minor league hockey, the same level as the ECHL (East Coast Hockey League)," Mallards coach Frank Anzalone said. "But the NHL teams are affiliating with ECHL teams.

"That's OK. There's plenty of players to go around. And if a big kid scores a lot of goals in our league, the scouts will find him."

DeCroo hopes to fit that description. He got a taste of playing with Quad City last year, seeing action in four games after his college season ended. He had no points and 15 penalty minutes during that stint.

"There's an option players have of finishing their degree online once their college hockey is over, if they want to get some pro games in," Anzalone said.

"One of Nick's professors at Hobart had a problem with him not attending classes, so I sent him back after four games. You don't want to pass on a Hobart degree."

DeCroo, who received a degree in economics, is unsure what path he'll choose in the working world and hopes he doesn't have to choose for a while.

"I want to get to the highest level of hockey I can," he said. "If that winds up being at the minor league level, so be it."

A broken left hand hampered him during his senior season at Hobart. He had four goals and two assists in 10 games.

DeCroo wound up with Quad City because Anzalone has known Hobart coach Mark Taylor for years and was seeking a winger with DeCroo's size and skills.

"I fit that description and they signed me," he said.

DeCroo falls into the category of a developmental player, which is one who has made fewer than 128 pro starts. Each CHL team must have at least five developmental players on its roster.

The CHL plays a 66-game regular season.

"This year, I just want to play hard and earn a spot on the roster," DeCroo said. "If I can get special teams time, that'd be great, too.

"I'm a big body and I think I can have an effective presence on the ice."

Anzalone hopes so.

"Nick has better-than-average skating speed and he's good around the net," the coach said. "The big thing is he'll have to create time and space for himself in front of the net, and that's a physical job.

"He's got the body type. He'll need the physicality and tenacity to go with it."