Eric Staal

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Eric Staal
Born (1984-10-29) October 29, 1984
Thunder Bay, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shoots Left
NHL team Carolina Hurricanes
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 2nd overall, 2003
Carolina Hurricanes
Playing career 2003–present

Eric Craig Staal (born October 29, 1984) is a Canadian ice hockey player and the captain of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League. Eric is the oldest of the Staal brothers, which include teammates Jordan Staal (an alternate captain on the team under Eric) and Jared Staal, and New York Rangers defenceman Marc Staal. He is a member of the Triple Gold Club, having won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006, and both the 2007 World Championships and the 2010 Winter Olympics with Canada men's national ice hockey team.

Early life

Eric was born in Thunder Bay, Ontario, son of sod farmers Henry and Linda Staal. He started playing hockey at the age of four,[1] and along with learning how to operate farming tools he played in a home ice rink with his three younger brothers.[2] His idols growing up were forwards Joe Sakic and Wayne Gretzky.[3] Eric took his jersey number 12 from what his father wore played hockey in the Lakehead Thunderwolves from 1978 to 1983.[4][3]

Playing career

Staal grew up playing minor hockey in Thunder Bay, and played AAA for the Thunder Bay Kings organization and led his Bantam team to an All-Ontario Championship in 1999-2000. After that season, Staal was selected in the 1st round (13th overall) in the 2000 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection by the Peterborough Petes. While not even Staal's father thought Eric was fit for the OHL, he finished his first season with 49 points in 63 games. In his sophomore season Staal upped his total to 62, and in 2002-03, his last season before the NHL draft, he scored a career-best 98 points in 66 games.[2]

Staal was selected second overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes, behind number 1 pick Marc-AndrΓ© Fleury. He played his first season in the National Hockey League right after being drafted. In 2004, Staal played in the YoungStars game as part of the 2004 NHL All-Star festivities.

As the 2004-05 NHL season was cancelled due to a lockout, Staal spent the year in the Hurricanes' American Hockey League affiliate, the Lowell Lock Monsters. He established new franchise records in points (77), assists (51), plus/minus (+37) and shorthanded goals (7) in a season, and was also called for the AHL All Star Classic.[3]

In the 2005-06 NHL season, Staal scored a career-high 100 points during the regular season, and was named NHL Offensive Player of the Week of October 23–30, 2005 - the same in which he had his first career hat trick against the Philadelphia Flyers. He then led the Hurricanes in points during the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 28 points as they won the Stanley Cup. Staal was fourth in voting for the Hart Trophy, which is the award for the NHL's most valuable player. Following the successful season, on July 1, 2006, Staal signed a three year, $13.5 million contract with the Hurricanes.[5]

Staal made his first All-Star game appearance in 2007 NHL All-Star Game in Dallas, where he scored the Eastern Conference's third goal. On January 27, 2008, at the NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta, Staal recorded two goals and an assist. He was also awarded the MVP award for the event.

On September 11, 2008, Staal signed a seven year, $57.75 million deal with the Hurricanes beginning in the 2009–2010 NHL season. Staal was slated to become a restricted free agent on July 1, 2009, but signed despite having one year at $5 million remaining on his former contract.[6]

On April 28, 2009, Staal capped an improbable comeback by scoring the series winning goal with 31.7 seconds remaining in the seventh game of Carolina's first round series of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the New Jersey Devils.[1] The Hurricanes went as far as the Eastern Conference Finals, losing to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

On May 8, 2009, Staal scored twice to earn 40 career postseason points and eclipse Ron Francis' franchise mark of 39.

On January 20, 2010, Staal was named team captain, replacing Rod Brind'Amour who was named an alternate captain. Staal became the fifth captain since the team relocated to Raleigh.[7]

On January 18, 2011, Staal was named the captain of the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh.

Staal is one of the most durable players in the NHL, having played in 690 of Carolina's 704 regular-season games (98%) since the beginning of his rookie year of 2003-04, and with just 14 games missed in nine seasons - 12 due to injury, and two attending his sister-in-law's funeral.[8][9]

Personal life

Staal married his longtime girlfriend Tanya Van den Broeke on August 3, 2007. Their first child, a son named Parker Lucas Staal, was born on September 22, 2009. Their second child, son Levi John Staal, was born December 11, 2011 in Raleigh, North Carolina.[10]

Awards and achievements

Records

  • Most hat tricks in 2008–09 - 4
  • Carolina Hurricanes' franchise record for most hat tricks in a single season - 4 (2008–09)
  • Carolina Hurricanes' franchise record for most career post-season points - 43
  • Carolina Hurricanes' franchise record for consecutive games - 349 (2004-2009)[8]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1999–00 Thunder Bay Kings Bantam AAA TBAHA 61 40 36 76 52 - - - - -
2000–01 Peterborough Petes OHL 63 19 30 49 23 7 2 5 7 4
2001–02 Peterborough Petes OHL 56 23 39 62 40 6 3 6 9 10
2002–03 Peterborough Petes OHL 66 39 59 98 36 7 5 9 14 6
2003–04 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 81 11 20 31 40 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 77 26 51 77 88 11 2 8 10 12
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 45 55 100 81 25 9 19 28 8
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 30 40 70 68 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 38 44 82 50 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2008–09 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 40 35 75 50 18 10 5 15 4
2009–10 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 70 29 41 70 68 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 81 33 43 76 72 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2011–12 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 24 46 70 48 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
2012–13 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 48 18 35 53 54 β€” β€” β€” β€” β€”
NHL totals 690 268 359 627 531 43 19 24 43 12

International play

Medal record
Competitor for Canada Canada
Men's ice hockey
Olympic Winter Games
Gold 2010 Vancouver
World Championships
Gold 2007 Moscow
Silver 2008 Halifax / Quebec City

Staal got his first calls to Canada men's national ice hockey team in the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. Along with younger brother Jordan Staal, he won gold in a 4-2 win against Finland,[11] scoring 5 goals - including the overtime winner in the quarterfinals with the Czech Republic.[12] In the following year, Staal was back with Team Canada at the 2008 World Championships in Quebec City, winning a silver medal.[11] He scored eight goals in the tournament, four of them in Canada's 10-1 defeat of Germany.[13]

Four years after being named only for Canada's taxi squad in the 2006 Winter Olympics, Staal was drafted for the Canadian team at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.[14] He became a starter alongside Sidney Crosby and Jarome Iginla,[15] and scored one goal and five assists on the path to a gold medal. The Olympic title added with previous NHL and World Championship wins made Staal the 23rd player in the Triple Gold Club.[11]

Staal was named captain of Team Canada in the 2013 World Championships in Stockholm.[16] He would get injured in the first period of the quarterfinals which Canada ended up losing to eventual champions Sweden, after a knee-on-knee hit by defenceman Alexander Edler.[8]

International statistics

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Canada WC 9 5 5 10 6
2008 Canada WC 8 4 3 7 6
2010 Canada Oly 7 1 5 6 6
2013 Canada WC 8 0 3 3 4
Senior int'l totals 32 10 16 26 22

See also

References

External links

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