Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 2.23

www.afootinthecrease.com

It’s natural that in any professional sports league, some players will be hyped to the maximum as the league attempts to capitalize on their star power. Other players, be it because of their quiet nature, or because they are playing in the shadow of other stars, never receive that type of attention they deserve. While the National Hockey League has made Crosby and Ovechkin and Malkin the faces of the new NHL, it is Jordan Staal who has become the game’s “Quiet Star.”

When you step back though and think, it’s easy to see how things have worked out the way they have for these four young men. Crosby came up as the “next Gretzky”. Malkin had long been billed as “the best player in the world not currently in the NHL.” Ovechkin, well he’s just Ovechkin, a player who has such a pure love and passion for the game, on some nights you wonder if he would be happy playing for free.

Jordan Staal, by nature, is a quiet, reserved individual. Hey, at barely 18, perhaps he is still overwhelmed by the whole NHL way of life. His game is refined well beyond his years, you never notice him making mistakes. When he scores you notice him, but you no sooner turn around and there’s Crosby making a spinning deke to set up a goal with a pass around his back while lying on his back. All of a sudden, it’s Staal who?

He plays in the shadow of Malkin, who has grabbed attention by living up to his enormously high expectations and Crosby, who is poised to become the youngest Art Ross winner since Mr. Gretzky. He plays in the shadow of his brother Eric, Stanley Cup champion at age 22. For the better part of the first half of the season, he was used in primarily a defensive role.

Since being place on a line with Malkin around the all star break, Staal has taken off. He leads the league in SH goals and sits with 23 goals on the year. Until brother Eric scored his 24th on Saturday, thanks to Jordan’s hat trick, the two Staals saw eye to eye for a brief time. Last night for those in Toronto who came to see Sidney, Jordan Staal the show. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.