Jordan Staal

In addition to becoming the youngest player to record a two-goal game since Bep Guidolin of the Boston Bruins did so at the age of 18 years and 12 days on December 21, 1943, Staal also scored both his goals on the penalty kill, becoming the youngest player to record two shorthanded goals in one game (surpassing Radek Dvořák of the Florida Panthers, who did so at 20 years and 278 days on December 12, 1997).

The previous mark had been held for over sixty years by Jack Hamilton, who achieved a four-goal game at 18 years and 185 days old with the Maple Leafs against the New York Rangers on December 4, 1943.

Then, late in the season, on March 6, Staal scored his league-leading seventh shorthanded goal of the season to break the previous league record for shorthanded tallies by a rookie, set by Gerry Minor of the Vancouver Canucks in 1980–81 and matched by John Madden in 1999–2000.

The goal cued a late third period comeback for the Penguins to win 5–4 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators.

Staal completed his rookie season with 29 goals, second in rookie goal-scoring to teammate Malkin, and 42 points for a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination.

The award was given to Malkin, while Staal finished third in voting, behind first runner-up Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche.

Jordan Staal (born September 10, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and captain of the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

He is regarded as a premier penalty-killer and skilled two-way forward.

He was the second Staal in the NHL, after older brother Eric was drafted second overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

Staal played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Peterborough Petes for two seasons, beginning in 2004–05 after having been selected third overall in the 2004 OHL Priority Draft.

In his second year with the club, he produced at a point-per-game pace with 28 goals and 68 points in 68 games before adding 16 points in the playoffs to help lead Peterborough to the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions.

Having scored his second shorthanded marker on a penalty shot, Staal additionally became the youngest player to score on a penalty shot, surpassing Nathan Horton, who scored with Florida at 18 years and 224 days on January 8, 2004.

During the course of the 2005–06 season, Staal was also selected to play in the 2006 CHL Top Prospects Game.

After a two-year Ontario Hockey League (OHL) career, in which he won a J. Ross Robertson Cup and appeared in the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes, Staal was drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

He made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL after being drafted and set several NHL records in his rookie season, including youngest player to score on a penalty shot, to score two shorthanded goals in one game, to score a hat trick and the most shorthanded goals by a rookie in one season.

Staal was also a Calder Memorial Trophy nominee and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Among his former Penguins teammates, Staal was known as "Gronk."

The nickname, a reference to a Marvel comic book supervillain, was given to him by former Penguins teammate Colby Armstrong, because of his strong on-ice presence.

Earning a berth in the 2006 Memorial Cup, the Petes did not, however, make it past the round-robin.

Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Staal was ranked second among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, behind Erik Johnson of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers.

He went on to be drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, behind Johnson, who was selected by the St. Louis Blues.

Jordan became the third among the four Staal brothers to be drafted into the NHL after his older brothers Marc and Eric, who was also selected second overall.

Staal was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract by the Penguins on October 2, 2006, and made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL in 2006–07 at the age of 18.

He scored his first NHL goal on October 12, a shorthanded breakaway marker against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 6–5 win.

Later that month, on October 21, Staal set a pair of NHL records with a two-goal effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In 2007, he became the youngest player (18 years and 153 days) to score a hat trick in league history.

Staal grew up playing minor ice hockey for the Thunder Bay Kings AAA organization.

After his minor midget year, Staal was selected in the first round (2nd overall) by the Peterborough Petes.

In January 2007, Staal participated in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All-Star festivities, along with teammates Ryan Whitney and Malkin.

Shortly thereafter, on February 10, 2007, Staal scored his first NHL career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs and set yet another NHL record by becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick at 18 years and 153 days.

His first goal came at 19:22 in the first period, the second came at 3:32 in the second, and his third was the game winner, as he beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft stick-side at 3:54 in overtime.

One year prior, he lost the 2008 finals against the same Red Wings.

Jordan is one of the four Staal brothers, whom have all played or are currently playing professional ice hockey in the NHL.

Staal won the Stanley Cup as a member of the Penguins in 2009, scoring two goals and an assist in the seven-game series against the Detroit Red Wings.

Early in Staal's rookie season, however, there was still speculation that he would be returned to his junior team before playing his 10th game to avoid allowing him to accrue a full season under the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.

Due to his strong play, however, particularly on the penalty-kill, the Penguins chose to keep him for the remainder of the season.

Staal, along with fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin joined superstar Sidney Crosby, who had himself only entered his second NHL season, and goaltender Marc-André Fleury to form an effective young nucleus that revived the Penguins franchise.

The youngest and fourth brother, Jared, made his NHL debut on April 25, 2013, on a line together with Jordan and Eric before retiring in 2017.

The second-eldest, Marc, plays defence for the Philadelphia Flyers.

The eldest, Eric, also played for (and captained) the Hurricanes until February 28, 2016.