Daryn has been an avid follower of NHL hockey for nearly 30 years and his passion for the game spills into his writing. He had a brief stint as a weekly CFL/NHL columnist with a moderately successful online newspaper and continues to discuss the game he loves as a freelancer on the world wide web. Five weeks into the NHL season many people are asking about a head-turning youngster in Carolina. Who is this young athlete? Read on to find out.
Prior to the start of this NHL season, it was understood that things would be very different. A whole new set of rules, smaller goalie equipment and a bumper crop of rookies are items that were all expected to change the complexion of the league significantly. That has happened in spades.
The top of the NHL’s scoring list is dominated by new names that have either never been there before or not been there for a while. Compelling stories could be told about many players but, maybe the most interesting of all is the story of Eric Staal.
Staal, the Carolina Hurricanes’ sophomore, is tied for the lead in the NHL with 28 points in 15 games so far this season. Averaging nearly two points per game at the NHL level is a phenomenal accomplishment, even more so since Staal is only in his second year in the league.
He is the first of the Staal family to crack an NHL lineup, being the older brother of the New York Rangers’ first round draft pick, Marc Staal. Eric spent three very productive seasons with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL before being drafted second overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003. His best junior season was the ’02-’03 campaign in which he ended up seventh in league scoring by notching 98 points in only 66 games.
Staal then had a modest 31 points as a rookie during the ’03-’04 season with the ‘Canes. He did play well and showed some flashes of brilliance during the season, leading the hurricanes coaching staff to believe that they had a youngster that would develop into a solid NHLer.
After his rookie season, he was faced with a lockout that cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season. This gave him the opportunity to fine-tune his skills with the AHL’s Lowell Lock Monsters. He had a good year, putting up 77 points but, it certainly gave us no indication of the breakout he was to have this season.
With players like Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Jason Spezza emerging as bona-fide stars this season, it is remarkable that 6’4" 205 lb, 21 year old with Hollywood good looks it stealing some of the thunder from his non-traditional hockey market of Raleigh, NC. Some fans have even nicknamed Staal "Sunshine" because of his striking resemblance to a character from the movie "Remember the Titans."
The attendance numbers for the Hurricanes were somewhat disappointing early on, but now that the team has been very hot, the fans are showing up. In fact, 16,000+ showed up for a ‘Canes game in early November, which is great to see in the basketball-crazy South East.
Staal’s efforts have been instrumental in the Hurricanes current nine game-winning streak; but he isn’t doing it alone. Corey Stillman, signed as a free agent from the Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning, fourth year ‘Cane Erik Cole and goaltender Martin Gerber have all made major contributions to the No. 2 team in the Eastern Conference.
Who is Eric Staal? He is one of the fantastic young guns to emerge from the shadows in the "new" NHL.