Welcome Eric Staal! [Archive]

Captain Slack

06-21-2003, 12:36 PM

Welcome aboard, my son! Now hit the weight room and bulk up! We need you here ASAP! :D

Stormbringer

06-21-2003, 12:43 PM

:eek: Eric...Staal...is...now...a...Cane?!?! :eek2:

(jumps up and down and imitates Kevin McCallister) YEEEEESSSSS! YES! YES! YES!

(sings) Happy, happy! Joy, joy! Happy, happy! Joy, joy! :D :spin:

Captain Slack

06-21-2003, 12:55 PM

:eek: Eric...Staal...is...now...a...Cane?!?! :eek2:

(jumps up and down and imitates Kevin McCallister) YEEEEESSSSS! YES! YES! YES!

(sings) Happy, happy! Joy, joy! Happy, happy! Joy, joy! :D :spin:

I know! It's almost too good to be true, isn't it? :crazy:

According to the announcers, he's also Jeff Heerema's first cousin. Maybe they'll end up on a line together someday.

folgersnyourcup

06-21-2003, 01:19 PM

Speaking of Hereema, I really hope he is able to perform well enough at training camp to earn a spot on the team. I thought he played really well this past season in the few games he played in before being injured. He scored a nice goal in the first game he played against the Devils which shut up the people around me that were heckling him saying "I thought you were supposed to come up here and score Hereema!"

It could work out real well to have Staal anchoring the 2nd line sometime in the future and Francis on the top line. It's not bad to have excellent playmakers on your top two lines! I'm really glad the Canes got Staal.

I think Pittsburgh should just quickly throw Fleury in as their number one goalie and see what he can do. He's likely going to face 30-40 shots per game as the Penguins at the moment really do look like a minor league team.... Should he be in goal and somehow lead the Penguins to a playoff spot (he would have to get a shutout most nights or stop upwards of 40 shots) it would really show he deserved to be picked at number one. But nobody's expecting the Penguins to make the playoffs next year and Fluery certainly wouldn't be blamed if they did not, but I think it would be interesting if the guy really is good enough to put the whole team on his back and carry them. Should it happen he'd probably get the Hart trophy as well.

But as for the Canes I see no way in hell they miss the playoffs this year. They should be mad and ready to come out angry about what happened last year and prove that they are a good team. I would love to see the ESPN guys have to swallow at least some of what they said about the Canes this past year.

talkingcanes

06-21-2003, 01:43 PM

Welcome aboard, my son! Now hit the weight room and bulk up! We need you here ASAP! :D

Welcome to Staal. Maybe we should be careful with our expectations for him.

Jeff O Rocks

06-21-2003, 02:49 PM

According to the announcers, he's also Jeff Heerema's first cousin. Maybe they'll end up on a line together someday.

Hopefully Eric will work so hard and play so well, Jeff will turn it up and be the player we all want him to be!! :spin: ;)

Welcome Eric!

Kind of off topic, but did anyone else want to cry when they told the story of Anthony Stewart? I am so glad he got chosen early...I wish him well...and will try not to boo him when he plays for the Panthers!! :D ;)

moonstomper

06-21-2003, 03:06 PM

Awesome. Very happy with this pick

Lady J

06-21-2003, 03:47 PM

Lady J

06-21-2003, 03:48 PM

:) I was kinda hoping we'd get Eric ~ woohoo! :)

tommy

06-21-2003, 03:49 PM

I think Pittsburgh should just quickly throw Fleury in as their number one goalie and see what he can do. He's likely going to face 30-40 shots per game as the Penguins at the moment really do look like a minor league team.... Should he be in goal and somehow lead the Penguins to a playoff spot (he would have to get a shutout most nights or stop upwards of 40 shots) it would really show he deserved to be picked at number one.

I think they should let training camp decide his role. They have Hedburg and Aubin, right? Throwing Fleury into the worst D in the league (for all intensive purposes), would be rushing it. Unless of course, he goes through training camp and really is a franchise goalie.

But yeah, Staal needs to bulk up bigtime, i.e., about 30 pounds, according to ESPN2 analysts. But I'm happy he's with us.

tommy

06-21-2003, 03:51 PM

Kind of off topic, but did anyone else want to cry when they told the story of Anthony Stewart? I am so glad he got chosen early...I wish him well...and will try not to boo him when he plays for the Panthers!! :D ;)

I must have missed that ~ is something horribly wrong with him? :(

His family was quite poor, one father working for money for seven kids... Could barely keep him in hockey. The one stick he would get he would have to keep for a year.... they had to just tape one that broke once. After spending lots of time living off of other people's money on trips with his team, and his family living in a hotel room for 9 months, a scout recognized his potential, and here he is today.

hyena

06-21-2003, 06:32 PM

welcome, eric! http://www.electrichyena.com/other/redthumb.gif :D

*breathes sigh of relief*

Jeff O Rocks

06-21-2003, 07:09 PM

tommy

06-21-2003, 07:48 PM

Here is an awesome article on Staal.

Staal: A passion to play
By Alan Adams | Special to NHL.com
June 16, 2003

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even the darkest, coldest nights of the winter couldn't stop Eric Staal from doing what he loves to do best.

Staal would come home from school, slip on his skates and grab his stick and head to the outdoor rink -- 50 feet wide by 100 feet long, complete with boards, lights and ringed with wire mesh -- his dad built at their home in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 10 years ago. He used scrap sections of actual arenas that had been discarded after being replaced.

It didn't matter that on some days it was so cold that the spit would freeze before it hit the ground. Thunder Bay is on the shores of Lake Superior and the winters are long, dark and cold.

Staal would play 2-on-2 shinny for hours on end with his three brothers. Whoever was first to call out "Wayne Gretzky" would get the honor of pretending he was "The Great One" and would score the big goal in the big game. And because there was no goalie, the only way anyone could score was by hitting the post.

The outdoor rink was Staal's introduction to hockey and his frozen version of a Field of Dreams is where he took the first strides on the road to being the top-ranked prospect by the NHL's Central Scouting Service heading to the June 21-22 Entry Draft in Nashville.

"It was a nice tool for me," said Staal about having the rink a short slap shot from the back door of the family home. "With three younger brothers, we were out there every chance we could. It was definitely a big help. Mom was always yelling to get inside for home work or for dinner. We always wanted to stay out there a little longer for a couple or more goals."

Staal's father, Henry, helps run a 500-acre sod farm near Thunder Bay. He says building the rink and maintaining it was the least he could do for his boys. The other option was to drive 20 minutes one way each time one of his boys wanted to slip on the blades and go for a skate.

"There is a lot of space out here and not a lot of neighbors. With the four boys, they would just go out and play and that was another reason I built the rink," Henry said. "What else was there to do? Rather than watch TV, they went out and skated and fired pucks. It was a great toy. It is kind of amazing. When they were out on that outdoor rink, they would play for hours. Hockey is such a great game and I was off in the winter so why not?"

The skills Eric Stall honed on the outdoor rink definitely served him well.

Staal was Mr. Everything for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League this season. He used the combination of size (6-foot-3, 182-pounds), skill and speed which make scouts salivate to his advantage. His strengths are his ability to control the puck, protect the puck down low and be creative with it. To say he is dogged with the puck is an understatement.

Staal is not someone who gets points in easy games. He gets goals at tough times in big games. He had 39 goals and 98 points in 66 games with the Petes and kept the pace up in the playoffs, with nine goals and 15 points in seven games. He fires crisp, sharp passes as well as anyone in junior hockey. He also has a mean streak in him and a passion for playing the game.

"He is very smart and he has great vision of the ice and he has a great touch with the puck. He has size, skating, puck-handling skill and smarts," said Toronto Maple Leaf head scout Barry Trapp. "He uses his long reach so well to protect the puck, and he is just a very solid all-around player. He's everything you would want in a kid."

"I like his hockey sense and I like the way he takes command of his shift," added Tom Renney, New York Rangers Vice-President, Player Development. "He understands the value of helping out defensively. When you think of him you think of offense and making things happen but he is responsible away from the puck. His upsides are as strong as anyone in the draft."

Peterborough General Manager Jeff Twohey recalled how a lot of Ontario league teams laughed at him when he picked Staal in the draft which stocks the rosters of major junior teams. Staal was kind of a scrawny kid -- 5-11, 150 pounds -- at the time. And while it was easy to sense that Staal had the instincts and competitiveness a top player needs to succeed, it remained to be seen whether it would all come together.

"I do not think when we drafted him that anybody thought he would develop into the No. 1 prospect," Twohey said. "But it all comes from hours of playing on that rink. He has a passion for playing."

"And along with that he has an incredible support group in his family," Twohey said. "In an age where there is a lot of interference from parents, a lot of pressure put on kids by parents, parents living their lives through their kids, this is a kid whose parents have as the only expectation that they work hard and that they are good kids."

Running a sod farm is hard work, especially in the summer which is the busy season. The work ethic that Henry used to run a successful business has rubbed off on his oldest son, who is as unassuming as you can possibly get. Being the top-ranked prospect in what scouts say is the deepest draft in almost a decade has not gone to Eric's head.

"He brings a calming effect to your team. Eric is a very confident kid but he's not cocky. If the team played a bad game, Eric was probably harder on himself than anybody," Twohey said. "He was always the hardest worker in practice and after a bad game he would push himself harder. He brought an example of how to conduct yourself off the ice and on the ice. He brought a mature attitude to his team.

"He is a kid that everybody on our team liked. He did not pick and choose his friends. He sincerely wants the team to do well. A lot of kids will talk about the team being important but really what is important is their own stats. I can tell you after three years of watching Eric, he is a genuine team guy. For me, he brought a refreshing outlook on hockey. I know I am a lot biased, but I have been here 21 years and this kid is special. He has a lot of the attributes of a (Chris) Pronger, a (Mike) Ricci and a (Steve) Yzerman. He has the same make-up in a lot of ways."

Staal simply has a passion for the game. It's that plain and simple.

"I have just stuck with it and things have opened up for me. Getting the chance to go to Peterborough was a great opportunity but I've never really said this is what I want to make a career doing," said Staal. "Hockey is just a game and everything seems to be falling into place for me."

If everything falls into place, his name will be the first announced when the Entry Draft gets into the swing of things. But being the pick of the litter is not the be-all-to-end-all.

"I do not know if it is important. It would be a good feeling but I will be happy with whoever drafts me. The draft will be exciting and it only happens once and it will be a lot of fun. I'll just work hard (at his first NHL training camp) and will try to continue to succeed."

Whether Staal makes the jump to the NHL next season is a decision that will be made next September/October after his first NHL training camp.

Should Stall stick with the club which picks him, he might consider buying his parents a new car. With three brothers -- Marc, Jordon and Jarred -- playing the game at competitive levels, Henry and Linda Staal are sometimes like two ships passing in the night as they go from rink to rink, tournament to tournament.

Marc, 16, was recently selected second overall in the Ontario Hockey League draft by the Sudbury Wolves. Jordan, 14, plays Bantam AAA for the Thunder Bay Kings, and 12-year-old Jarred, if you believe those who have seen him play, might be the best of the Staal boys.

"We're talking huge amounts of road trips," said Henry about the life of a hockey parent. "It is a lot of trips but we would play it by ear and go week to week, day to day. My wife would drive one way and I'd go the other and you just manage."

Henry pauses for a second to think about those days of watching Eric and his brothers on the outdoor arena have become fewer and fewer as one by one his boys leave home to chase a dream.

"You know they still play stick hockey downstairs," said Henry. "We never had furniture in our living room for a long time because when the kids were younger, they'd play stick hockey. We just watched TV in the family room. Now they are bigger and they just try to toss me around."

And while Henry Staal won't have Eric around waiting to ambush him this fall, he knows Eric will never be far from home and the backyard rink that holds a special place in his heart.

"I loved it out there, playing with my brothers," said Eric. "It was our own little world."

stewart123

06-21-2003, 08:08 PM

It will be extremely interesting in Florida.. Stewart broke Horton's jaw in a fight. Do you forget that, once you're teammates?

And Staal will hopefully get a chance for revenge against Horton for the championship loss.

SouthernHockeyChick

06-21-2003, 08:11 PM

Jeff O Rocks

06-22-2003, 12:57 AM

It will be extremely interesting in Florida.. Stewart broke Horton's jaw in a fight. Do you forget that, once you're teammates?

In the interview after he was picked Stewart said he and Horton were best friends.....interesing is right.

Hockey is a weird sport...they beat the shi* out of each other on the ice, and then go out for dinner after the game!! :beatup: :roll:

stewart123

06-22-2003, 07:26 AM

I agree in general.. but you don't do a lot of 'going out to dinner' with a broken jaw. It's a long, boring, painful, *memorable* recovery.

AbNormal27

06-22-2003, 10:49 AM

(I the tune of "I am Evil Homer")
We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al!

I am soooooo ahppy we picked Staal. Give him a GNC Gold Card and send him off to a gym for the rest of the summer so he can bulk up! Welcome, my boy, WELCOME! WOOO HOOO!

Aaryn

SouthernHockeyChick

06-22-2003, 10:56 AM

Aaryn....just to inflate your head a little further ;) ....you were the first person I remember saying we should get Staal.

If he's a bust (highly doubtful I know) it's all on you! :p
:laugh:

Stormbringer

06-22-2003, 11:19 AM

We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al! We got Eric Sta-al!

I am soooooo ahppy we picked Staal. Give him a GNC Gold Card and send him off to a gym for the rest of the summer so he can bulk up! Welcome, my boy, WELCOME! WOOO HOOO!

I knew you'd be happy, dude. :) Between you and me, I don't know who can't wait more to see Staal at training camp and hopefully making the team and being able to work with the very man he's been compared to alias Ronnie for a whole season. Needless to say, I am looking VERY FORWARD to next season, but I've been doing that since April 6th. :D

Turbulence

06-22-2003, 02:52 PM

Let me add my belated WHOOOOOOOO!
This kid will change this franchise for good...but he does need to bulk up. The last thing I want to see next year is this guy wearing the sightless eye on opening night...we need to take our time with him and let him mature/bulk up a bit. Rushing players kills them...just look what happened to Tanabe.
This guy will be awesome...but we need to give him some time...

Lady J

06-22-2003, 04:36 PM

Jeff O Rocks

06-22-2003, 05:56 PM

Aaryn....just to inflate your head a little further ;) ....you were the first person I remember saying we should get Staal.

If he's a bust (highly doubtful I know) it's all on you! :p
:laugh:

Remind him again SHC when you see him!! :evil: :D ;)

CaniacKikiBB13

06-22-2003, 07:47 PM

is it just me, or does eric staal strongly resemble the football player named sunshine in "remember the titans"? anyways......I'm happy with the pick and hoping he will play well :)

PennsylvaniaCanesFan

06-22-2003, 09:49 PM

First off...sorry for my long hiatus. Since I am away from school, I no longer have cable internet and am stuck with dialup. This, along with work keeps me away from the net.

I am very impressed with the Canes draft and moves so far. Markov is a solid blueliner. Murray will make a good 3rd or 4th line center. Staal will become a solid player for future years, as long as they don't rush him (i.e. see Alexander Daigue). The lower draft picks will help out the defense in a few years after Hedican and Ward ride off into the sunset. I would like to see a marquee player signed for a one year contract, but I don't think that is in the cards.

Alicia

06-23-2003, 01:28 PM

Aaryn, I know this made you jump up and down! :D

Shell

06-23-2003, 03:28 PM

another article about Staal..

Staal can do it all
But so can Eric's brothers: Jared, Marc and Jordan, who have talent to burn
KEN CAMPBELL
TORONTO STAR

NASHVILLE, TENN.—Early this afternoon, Eric Staal will hear his named called out in front of thousands of people. He'll walk up to a podium and pull an NHL sweater over his shoulders and some team's executive will talk about how happy he is to be arm in arm with a future star.

Two days later, Staal will be back in Thunder Bay. He'll be cutting grass or doing irrigation work or slinging large rolls of sod over his shoulder under the watchful eye of Henry Staal, the proprietor of Sunshine Sod Farms, a 500-acre sprawl that doesn't get cut by itself, you know. He'll earn his $14 an hour and later that night maybe he'll play a little scrub hockey at the local arena.

Depending on which NHL scout is offering his opinion, Staal is the most promising NHL prospect in this year's draft, which is quite a compliment considering the fact that the consensus is that this year's crop is the deepest one in years. And while the Florida Panthers may very well deal the No.1 pick so another team can take phenom goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury first overall today, there is little doubt that Staal will be among the top three players chosen. The NHL's Central Scouting Bureau has Staal ranked as the No.1 prospect and many scouts compare him to Ron Francis, the ageless wonder who has forged himself a hall of fame career.

Henry is undoubtedly proud of his son and is well aware that Eric stands to be rich beyond his wildest dreams once he signs his first NHL contract. But it's busy season right now and winter comes early in Thunder Bay, so you have to make sod while the sun shines.

"I've got to the point where I realize this is his career now, so that comes first," Henry said. "He works out now and I'm not going to say, `You can't work out. But when he comes back after lunch, he's not going to sit in the house and watch TV while I'm laying sod. He's not like that. It's a dirty job and he said to me the other day, `You know what? I think I'm kind of glad I'm going to try to be a hockey player and not do this for the rest of my life.' "

Henry has come to the realization he may not have anyone to pass the business down to the way his father did 20 years ago for him and his brother. That's because Eric is the first in a line of brothers who are all showing enormous NHL potential at a young age.

Eric's 16-year-old brother Marc was recently drafted second overall in the Ontario Hockey League draft by the Sudbury Wolves. Jordan, 14, might be the best of the bunch and is making a name for himself as a large and talented power forward who is already being touted as a top five pick in next year's OHL draft. And if 12-year-old Jared begins to apply his talents, he stands a good chance of following his brothers' path of success.

All four are stars in the Thunder Bay hockey factory, but there is little outward evidence that any one of them needs an oversized helmet. The parents are as low-key as the kids and don't fit the mould of minor hockey parents obsessed with pushing their sons into the NHL. All four are either in or have gone through the Thunder Bay Kings' Triple-A organization and from the parents down, are model hockey citizens.

"Ego is not a problem for the Staal boys," said Kings coach Paul Hebelka, who has coached both Eric and Jordan and knows the other two very well, "because none of the Staal boys has an ego."

When they are all together, the four boys are more likely to be reading the Bible than talking about the NHL. The family has a deep an abiding faith and are members of the Christian Reformed Church, which was established about 200 years ago by Dutch Calvinists who left the Netherlands for North America. Both Linda and Henry are first-generation Canadians whose parents are Dutch.

"We don't think about (the NHL) — maybe in our own heads, but we don't say anything," Eric said. "We just go out and enjoy the game. We don't go around saying we're going to make it. Playing in the NHL has been a dream of mine since I was a small kid, but my parents aren't the kind of people who are going to pressure us into doing anything."

But Henry is not above some gentle prodding. The Staal boys have spent their formative years on a 50-by-100 foot rink, complete with lights and boards, that Henry built 10 years ago using scraps discarded from an arena in Thunder Bay. Henry played at Lakehead University and wanted to pass his passion for the game, but not his skills, down to his sons.

"Legs of gold, hands of stone," Henry said. "I was always a decent skater and I had a fairly good mind for the game, but that puck was like a foreign object to me. I certainly didn't teach Eric how to stickhandle and score."

Most of that was self-taught on the rink at all hours of the day and night and the results are starting to show. Eric and Marc definitely have NHL potential, but Jordan is beginning to dominate. At 14, he recently took part in a regional under-17 camp to help fill out the roster and was the best player on the ice.

Henry offers this assessment of his own boys:

Eric, centre, 6-foot-3, 190 pounds: "He's pretty intelligent on the ice. He's not going to go 400 miles an hour and put someone through the boards. He's not going to dazzle anybody, but at the end of the game he has a goal and two assists. He gets around the net and he has this knack for hanging on to the puck. I don't know how he does it."

Marc, defenceman, 6-foot-3, 180: "He makes a very good first pass. He's not a glass rimmer. Sometimes he gets beat, but he always tries to make a play coming out of his own end instead of just firing it off the glass."

Jordan, centre, 6-foot-1, 185: "He's the most naturally gifted and he has the physical tools. He hits more than Eric ever did, but at this age Eric was 5-foot-8 and 120 pounds."

Jared, right wing, 5-foot-5, 130: "The jury is still out on him. He has good skill, but sometimes it's just so frustrating to get him going."

When asked about the possibility of all four playing in the NHL, Henry says, "Hey, nobody even knows for sure about Eric. There are no guarantees."

There is a humility about the family, much of which is rooted in their deep faith. Eric's mother, Linda, said that she's not concerned about what happens this weekend because a much higher power than an NHL general manager or Eric's agent, Bobby Orr, will guide him. She believes God has a plan for Eric and her three other boys.

"We're not pushy about it and we're not Bible thumpers," Henry said. "It's a bit of a curse sometimes because people hold you up to a standard that is impossible to live up to. That's why you don't go around saying you're better than anyone else."

When it comes to their prowess on the ice, the Staals are happy to allow others to do that.

moonstomper

06-23-2003, 05:08 PM

Thats a good story Shell

nccanes

06-23-2003, 05:47 PM

Not really related to Staal, but a little photo of Luke DeCock getting the scoop from JR.

http://www.carolinahurricanes.com/images/SecondImages/draft_03_big.jpg

Shell

08-02-2003, 11:18 AM

Saturday, August 2, 2003 10:55AM EDT
Hurricanes Giving Staal a Long Look
18-year-old center has superb skills, but is he ready to take NHL pounding?

By LUKE DECOCK, Staff Writer

Eric Staal has been fighting off questions about his size almost as long as he has been fighting off opposing defensemen. He entered the Ontario Hockey League in the fall of 2000 a rapidly growing 5 feet 11 but weighing only 145 pounds.
"As a 16-year-old, he looked like a 13-year-old," said Rick Allain, his coach with the OHL's Peterborough Petes.

Three years later, he is preparing to answer another barrage of questions about his size, this time with millions of dollars hanging in the balance. At 6 feet 3, he is tall enough for the NHL, but at 182 pounds, is he ready to play for the Carolina Hurricanes now and take the night-in, night-out pounding?

Staal will begin answering that question this week.

The Canes took the 18-year-old center with the No. 2 pick in June's NHL draft, and Staal will make his first Triangle appearance today at the team's annual prospect conditioning camp.

Most of the eight players the Canes are bringing in are years away from making the NHL. For them, this is a learning experience. For Staal, it is the first hurdle in his quest to make the Canes' roster this fall.

"I'm looking forward to it," Staal said this week. "It will be nice to go down there and see the city, stuff like that."

The camp, which runs through Aug. 7, is the first step.

With a good showing in rookie camp and then training camp in September, he could well be making his NHL debut with the Canes in October.

"If Eric comes in and looks like he's ready to contribute, then he's going to be given every opportunity to make the team," Carolina coach Paul Maurice said. "If it appears he needs more developmental time, he's going to get it.

"The best way to do it is not to come in with preconceived notions of what he's capable of at this level. Nobody knows that. We know he's going to be a very good player for us in the future, but when that future starts is different with every player."

Leading the way

Staal is the oldest of four hockey-playing brothers who could be a one-household hockey dynasty germinating on a 500-acre sod farm outside Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Marc, 16, is a 6-foot-2 defenseman taken second overall in this past May's OHL draft. Jordan, 14 and already 6 feet 1, may be the best of the bunch. Jared turns 13 this month but has the tools that made his brothers so successful in Thunder Bay's respected youth-hockey program.

The prospect of ferrying the four boys, and their two cousins next door, the 25 minutes into Thunder Bay for decades of practices and late-afternoon pickup games prompted father Henry to take the unusual step of building a rink -- boards and all -- behind the family's house.

"I thought to myself, instead of spending the time in the car driving, I've got lots of room, so why not?" Henry Staal said. "It's just such a huge toy. The amount of money we could spend on videos or things like that, you just spend a little time with this. It's not that expensive, and, man alive, it keeps them busy forever."

Constructed out of discarded pieces of a local rink, it became the venue for many a Christmas Day hockey battle between the Staal boys, their cousins next door and their cousins on the other side of Thunder Bay -- Hurricanes forward Jeff Heerema among the latter, 4 1/2 years older than Staal.

A member of a hockey-playing family and a first-round draft pick himself, Heerema had pushed Staal around for years. When Staal turned 15, Heerema remembers noticing for the first time how good his younger cousin really was.

Strength in mind

Even then, the questions were about Staal's size, not his skills.

"We were at an agency camp three years ago and he was a little shorter and a lot skinnier," said Peterborough teammate Aaron Dawson, the Canes' fourth-round draft pick who will join Staal in Raleigh this week. "They said this guy was going to be a top draft pick someday, and I thought it must be a joke."

But Staal has added 15 pounds and 1 1/2 inches a year in Peterborough, and the Canes think he may get taller . They expect him to settle somewhere about 215 pounds.

He has been working out four days a week this summer and playing hockey three days a week. His brothers have picked up the slack on the farm, leaving Staal enough time to get in a few rounds of golf as well.

The conditioning camp will provide a barometer of Staal's readiness.

"He's got some attributes already available to him that other kids don't," said Canes trainer Pete Friesen, who runs the camp. "He's got the big frame and I think very good lower leg strength."

Friesen says the hardest part of the conditioning camp isn't the physical aspect of the workouts, which some survivors say are the hardest they've ever been through, but the mental strain attached to them -- fighting through them, then recovering to go through it all over again the next morning.

That's an area where Josef Vasicek stood out three summers ago, a month before his 20th birthday. That fall, he was so impressive in training camp he made the team as Carolina's third-line center.

It's also an area where Staal may be particularly adaptable. Maturity may be his strongest suit, a quality that his teammates say often is masked behind a quiet shyness.

"He's mentally stronger than any other player I've seen," Dawson said. "People are always getting on him about getting stronger, but his mental strength is the key to his success."

It's a mental strength that comes from being the oldest sibling in a large church-going family, from long days hauling sod around the farm, from being given plenty of responsibility and learning to handle it.

"Being around him every day, he kind of comes out of his shell a little bit. You've just got to talk to him, make him feel comfortable," said Peterborough defenseman Mark Flood, Staal's closest friend on the team.

The two had a number of high school classes together, and Flood often hopped a ride in Staal's Pontiac Sunfire to the movies with their teammates on Tuesday nights or to Flood's host family's hot tub to rest their aching muscles.

"We'd sit in there quite a bit," Flood said. "Put our feet up and relax."

Pros and cons

If Staal were to go back to the OHL, it might be more relaxing than invigorating. His stats have risen the past three seasons, but after scoring 98 points in 2002-03, he doesn't have much more to accomplish.

In a league dominated by 19- and 20-year-olds, he played with two players younger than him on his wings -- players often caught off guard by Staal's visionary passing.

His skills may beg a new challenge.

"He's just so much better than anybody down here," Allain said.

Under NHL rules, he is too young to go to the minors, and once he is sent to Peterborough, he can't be called up again during the OHL season.

But the Canes wouldn't have to keep Staal for a full season, either. He could stick around for the first half of the season and play for Canada at the World Junior Championships over the New Year's holiday. After that, the Canes would have the choice of returning him to Peterborough or keeping him in Carolina.

There's another factor working on the Canes' thinking. Staal is a rangy, playmaking center like Ron Francis, and the Canes want him to spend as much time around Francis as possible.

With a lockout looming in 2004-05, this is likely to be Francis' last season -- the last chance for Staal to absorb as much of Francis' wisdom as possible.

Francis has played that role before, with Bobby Holik in Hartford and Josef Vasicek and Jeff O'Neill in Carolina, discussing strategy, exuding professionalism. And there's plenty to learn from Rod Brind'Amour, too, from fitness to faceoffs.

The risk is that Staal's development could be harmed by rushing him to the NHL, which is why the Canes aren't jumping to any conclusions heading into training camp.

Above and beyond

One attribute Staal certainly shares with Francis is a flair for the momentum-changing play, the kind of flair that teams only find with the first few picks in the draft.

In January 2002, with the Petes in the process of blowing a four-goal lead against Kitchener, Staal scored twice in the final 67 seconds of the second period.

He stickhandled the length of the ice and scored on a power play, then scored again with nine seconds on the clock. Bolstered, Peterborough went on to win 7-4.

"To me, that was the biggest step he took," Allain said. "It really solidified him as a premier guy."

Flood remembers a game late in the Petes' first-round playoff series against the Oshawa Generals this spring when Staal showed that same flair. With the Petes down a goal early and wilting in the face of an Oshawa power play, Staal stole the puck from a defenseman at the blue line, deked the goalie and tied the score. He finished with two goals and two assists in a 5-2 win.

Watching from the other end of the ice as Staal pulled away, Flood never doubted his friend and teammate.

"I knew he was going to score as soon as he took it," Flood said. "I don't know, but whenever he gets the puck in that kind of situation, I know he's going to put it in.

"For some reason, he usually does."

In the OHL, Staal has had all the answers. This week, he begins to face a whole new set of questions.

Shell

08-02-2003, 11:21 AM

here's the sidebar pieces that went with that article:

Eric Craig Staal
BORN: Oct. 29, 1984, in Thunder Bay, Ontario
HEIGHT: 6 feet 3
WEIGHT: 182 pounds
FAMILY: Father, Henry; mother, Linda; brothers, Marc, Jordan, Jared.

STATS WITH PETERBOROUGH PETES OF THE ONTARIO HOCKEY LEAGUE:
YR GP G A PTS
2000-01 63 19 30 49
2001-02 56 23 39 62
2002-03 66 39 59 98

The Staal timetable

Whether Eric Staal plays in the NHL this season or returns to his junior team will be determined in large part by his performance in rookie camp and training camp. But that's not all he's got going on right now:

TODAY -AUG. 7: Hurricanes prospect conditioning camp in Raleigh
AUG. 9-18: Canadian national junior team development camp in Calgary, Alberta
AUG. 27: Petes training camp starts in Peterborough, Ontario
SEPT. 6-10: Hurricanes rookie tournament in Ottawa with Senators, Montreal Canadiens
SEPT. 11: Hurricanes training camp opens in Raleigh
OCT. 7: Deadline for Hurricanes to return Staal to Peterborough if he isn't signed
OCT. 9: Hurricanes open regular season at Florida

Making the jump

Players drafted in 2002 who appeared in the NHL in 2002-03, with position, team, draft selection, age on opening night (plus NHL games played, goals, assists and points):

RICK NASH, RW, Columbus, 1st overall, 18 (74-17-22-39)
JAY BOUWMEESTER, D, Florida, 3rd overall, 19 (82-4-12-16)
SCOTT UPSHALL, RW, Nashville, 6th overall, 19 (8-1-0-1)
PIERRE-MARC BOUCHARD, C, Minnesota, 8th overall, 18 (50-7-13-20)
STEVE EMINGER, D, Washington, 12th overall, 18 (17-0-2-2)
JARRET STOLL, C, Edmonton, 36th overall, 20 (4-0-1-1)
MATTHEW STAJAN, C, Toronto, 57th overall, 18 (1-1-0-1)
LASSE PIRJETA, LW, Columbus, 133rd overall, 28 (51-11-10-21)
RADOSLAV HECL, D, Buffalo, 208th overall, 27 (14-0-0-0)
TOM KOIVISTO, D, St. Louis, 253rd overall, 28 (22-2-4-6)

cmw00

08-02-2003, 11:54 AM

Well I agree with the article above and alot of others around the net that say there really isn't anything left for him in the OHL. Its to bad he can't go to the minor leagues. I don't know if he is NHL ready. Sound like he would benefit from the NHL alot experience and learning wise. Especially from the practice and training and being around the veterans. But if he can't perform at the NHL 3rd or 4th line level I don't want him playing just yet.

But who knows I hope he makes the team, if he does that will most assueredly mean he is capable of playing at this level. I hope he suprises us all and makes the team!

Turbulence

08-02-2003, 12:46 PM

I had never thought about the Ronnie issue...but we have to face the fact that Ronnie will be gone next year (if there is a next year...) If we can have Staal be around Ronnie for a year he'll really learn alot. Even if we have to scratch him most of the time, he'll still learn alot from him in practice. It'd be worth the roster spot to have him only play in practice/act as an emergency foreward...
If he's going to replace Francis, what better person to teach him the ins and the outs of the game off and on the ice than Francis? I'd like to see him in Raleigh this year as the 4th line/extra center.

Jeff O Rocks

08-02-2003, 01:17 PM

I can handle having one or two Ronnie clones on the team, after **boo hoo** Ronnie leaves us. :cry: Hopefully all the youngin's and some of the vets will pay close attention this season and learn all they can...while they still can! :sad: It is going to be cool to see Stahl and company tomorrow. Finally, Canes on the ice!! :spin:

nccanes

08-03-2003, 07:36 AM

But the Canes wouldn't have to keep Staal for a full season, either. He could stick around for the first half of the season and play for Canada at the World Junior Championships over the New Year's holiday. After that, the Canes would have the choice of returning him to Peterborough or keeping him in Carolina.

There's another factor working on the Canes' thinking. Staal is a rangy, playmaking center like Ron Francis, and the Canes want him to spend as much time around Francis as possible.

This option sounds like a great one. Perhaps it's for selfish reasons as I'd love to see Staal in a Canes uni and not off to the OHL for the entire season and I think the fans would enjoy seeing him, but it does seem like a good way to get him some NHL experience, allow him to bulk up, etc...

HubbyHatesHockey

08-03-2003, 02:48 PM

This option sounds like a great one.

I agree, I'd love to see this happen. I didn't even realize it was an option until I saw it in the paper. Wonder how he'd do on a line with our newest sniper, Vrbata!

e2ipiand1

08-03-2003, 07:30 PM

I was at the practice today, and Eric looked really good. the defensemen were wearing 40-something numbers and the forwards 70-something numbers. Eric though, was wearing number 12. :)

Of course, the best player at practice today was Colesy!

Jeff O Rocks

08-03-2003, 08:12 PM

Eric is tall and very lean and very young. We have three strawberry blondes with curls and until you noticed his gray skates, you couldn't tell who was who!! He is very quick. :spin:

Guyute

08-04-2003, 09:05 AM

I think if at all possible Staal needs to be up here for at least part of the season. Even just being in the same locker room as Ronnie will help bigtime.

nccanes

08-06-2003, 07:59 PM

Nice AP article on Staal's prospect camp. Linked on the TSN main page too:

Can Staal handle the NHL grind?
Associated Press
8/6/2003

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Eric Staal's conditioning during the Carolina Hurricanes' rookie camp this week was up to NHL standards.

But there is some question whether that will be enough to earn the 18-year-old centre a spot on the Hurricanes' opening-day roster.

General manager Jim Rutherford and coach Paul Maurice still don't know whether it's wise to submit the NHL's second overall pick and his six-foot-three, 182-pound frame to a grinding 82-game NHL season immediately.

But Maurice is already sold on Staal's skating ability and touch around the net after seeing him with the team's other top rookie prospects.

"You just watch him on the ice and you can see the things that come natural to him that just don't come easy to a lot of guys," Maurice said Wednesday. "He has ability to do things with his head up because he's comfortable with the puck.

"Who knows what that means for training camp, but he's an exceptional player."

Some believe Staal, of Thunder Bay, Ont., is good enough to crack the lineup of a team that finished last overall in the NHL last year after reaching the Stanley Cup final the previous season.

"It he plays well enough, he can be our No. 1 centre if he wants," Rutherford said.

Staal wants to play in the NHL this season and not return to the OHL's Peterborough Petes, where he would dominate. However, Carolina is stocked at centre with Ron Francis, Rod Brind'Amour, Josef Vasicek, Kevyn Adams and newly acquired Marty Murray.

Still, Rutherford and Maurice vowed to enter training camp with an open mind about the franchise's highest draft pick in a decade.

"We'll just take it a week at a time," Rutherford said. "There is no pressure on him.

"It's not like he has to make the team this year. If he shows he's capable of being here, we'll make that happen."

Maurice will watch how Staal handles the pace of camp and physical part of playing on the NHL level.

Staal will have little time to bulk up over the next month. He leaves for the World Juniors training camp Friday in Calgary and then plays at Carolina's rookie tournament in early September in Ottawa.

"I know it's tough, but I think a lot of it has to do with your mental aspect," Staal said when asked if he could handle the grind of an NHL schedule.

"No one has really pressured me into being in the weight room eight hours a day," Staal added. "I know what I can take and I know what I have to do to get stronger and be a better player."<

Maurice said Staal could make the team out of training camp, spend a month or two in the NHL playing less than 10 minutes a game, then return to junior hockey if he encounters fatigue.

"As a starting point, low minutes is not something to be afraid of," Maurice said of playing time for Staal. "But at some point he has to either get more minutes because he's earned them or he'll have to go somewhere where he can get more minutes.

"I don't think you can spend a year playing six minutes a night."