Eric Staal
Eric Staal | |
---|---|
Born | Thunder Bay, ON, CAN | October 29, 1984
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 | 2003βpresent |
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 23β30, 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 2009β2010 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
- 2002β03: Top Draft Prospect Award (OHL)
- 2002β03: Second All-Star Team (OHL)
- 2002β03: First All-Star Team (CHL)
- 2003β04: Played in the YoungStars Game (NHL)
- 2005β06: Won Stanley Cup with Carolina Hurricanes, NHL 2nd All-Star Team
- 2007: World Ice Hockey gold
- NHL All-Star Game appearances: 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
- 2007β08: All-Star Game MVP
- 2010: Olympic gold (Staal became the 23rd member of the Triple Gold Club)[11]
Records
- Most hat tricks in 2008β09 - 4
- Carolina Hurricanes' franchise record for most hat tricks in a single season - 4 (2008β09)
- 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 | ||
1999β00 | Thunder Bay Kings Bantam AAA | TBAHA | 61 | 40 | 36 | 76 | 52 | - | - | - | - | - | ||
2000β01 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 63 | 19 | 30 | 49 | 23 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | ||
2001β02 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 56 | 23 | 39 | 62 | 40 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||
2002β03 | Peterborough Petes | OHL | 66 | 39 | 59 | 98 | 36 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 6 | ||
2003β04 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 81 | 11 | 20 | 31 | 40 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2004β05 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 77 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 88 | 11 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 12 | ||
2005β06 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 45 | 55 | 100 | 81 | 25 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 8 | ||
2006β07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 68 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2007β08 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 38 | 44 | 82 | 50 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2008β09 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 40 | 35 | 75 | 50 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 4 | ||
2009β10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 70 | 29 | 41 | 70 | 68 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2010β11 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 81 | 33 | 43 | 76 | 72 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2011β12 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 82 | 24 | 46 | 70 | 48 | β | β | β | β | β | ||
2012β13 | 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 | ||
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
- β 1.0 1.1 http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/24543-Eric-Staal.html
- β 2.0 2.1 http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3723745
- β 3.0 3.1 3.2 http://hurricanes.nhl.com/ext/staal_mediabio0809.pdf
- β http://m.theglobeandmail.com/sports/where-hockey-players-grow/article780241/?service=mobile
- β http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=470724
- β http://www.thehockeynews.com/articles/17830-Eric-Staal-agrees-to-sevenyear-US57M-deal-with-Hurricanes.html
- β http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=514280
- β 8.0 8.1 8.2 Eric Staal Diagnosed with Third-Degree MCL Sprain, Carolina Hurricanes official website
- β http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=512582
- β http://www.twylah.com/nhl_canes/tweets/146041427103711234
- β 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Triple Gold for Eric Staal, iihf.com, 28 February 2010.
- β http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2861983
- β http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3390345
- β http://hurricanes.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=511657
- β http://web.archive.org/web/20100303010838/http://www.iihf.com/channels10/olympics-2010/news/news-singleview-world-championship-2009/article/staals-chance-to-make-history.html?tx_ttnews%5BbackPid%5D=3471&cHash=78d8112c78
- β http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=422201