Paul Stastny

The first three brothers to have played simultaneously for the same team were Reg, Doug, and Max Bentley, who played with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1943, followed by the three Plager brothers, Bill, Barclay, and Bob, who played with the St. Louis Blues from 1968 to 1972.

Stastny's older brother Yan has played for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues.

He also played for CSKA Moscow in the KHL.

Peter and Paul Stastny currently rank fourth all-time in total scoring by a father–son combination in the NHL.

In 2022, Paul Stastny made a $1,000 donation to the Canadian truckers' "Freedom Convoy" which was seized by the Canadian government.

His uncles Anton and Marián Šťastný both played in the NHL during the 1980s, also for the Nordiques.

Peter and Anton were the first two of the three Šťastný brothers to arrive in North America, in 1980; they were smuggled, along with Peter's pregnant wife, out of Czechoslovakia into Austria with the help of the Nordiques' president Marcel Aubut and chief scout Gilles Leger.

Their brother Marián arrived a year later, after Peter and Anton had raised the US$30,000 needed to bribe Czechoslovak government officials.

All three played for the Nordiques from 1981 to 1985, only the third time that three brothers had played together for the same team in the NHL.

Paul Stastny (born December 27, 1985) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey center who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, Vegas Golden Knights, and Carolina Hurricanes.

Of Slovak lineage, Stastny is the son of Peter Šťastný, a Hockey Hall of Famer who played for the Colorado Avalanche's predecessor, the Quebec Nordiques, and finished his career with the St. Louis Blues.

Stastny's older brother Yan has played for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues.

Stastny was born on December 27, 1985, in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, to Peter Šťastný (anglicized to Stastny) and his wife Darina, while Peter was playing for the Quebec Nordiques.

Paul spent his early years in Quebec and New Jersey, following his father's career.

Peter joined the St. Louis Blues in 1993 and settled there after finishing his player career, working as a scout for the team.

As a youth, Stastny played in the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the St. Louis Blues' minor ice hockey team.

He played high school hockey for Chaminade College Preparatory School in St. Louis, Missouri, during his freshman and sophomore years in high school, but he left the high school team to play for the Tier III Junior B St. Louis Jr. Blues.

He then moved to Omaha, Nebraska, to play Tier I junior hockey for the River City Lancers of the United States Hockey League (USHL) during his last two years of high school, graduating from Millard North High School in Omaha.

Born in Canada to a mother with American citizenship, Stastny and his brother Yan have dual Canadian/U.S. citizenship.

He also has two sisters, Katarina and Kristina.

He has mentioned "religion, education and the importance of family" as principle values in his upbringing, and has spoken about his father's help in making him a better player.

Stastny has numerous family relatives who have played in the NHL.

Besides being the son of Peter Šťastný, the first European-trained player to reach 1,000 points in the NHL, he is also the nephew of retired NHL players Anton and Marián Šťastný.

Stastny began his junior ice hockey career in 2002 with the USHL's River City Lancers, playing with the team for two seasons and scoring 107 points in 113 games.

In 2002–03, the Lancers finished the regular season fourth in the West Division and progressed to the playoffs.

After advancing two rounds, the Lancers lost in the Clark Cup final against the Lincoln Stars.

In 2003–04, the Lancers finished third in the West Division and lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Sioux City Musketeers.

Stastny's 77 points in 56 games ranked him second in the league behind teammate Mike Howe.

Stastny began his junior hockey career with the River City Lancers of the United States Hockey League before moving to the Pioneers at the University of Denver in 2004.

After winning the NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship in his first season playing for the Pioneers, he remained at the university for one more season.

As a dual citizen, Stastny has chosen to represent the U.S. in international hockey competitions, including the 2004 Viking Cup, the 2007 IIHF World Championship, and the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.

He entered the University of Denver in 2004, to play for the Pioneers in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association of the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

Despite entering college hockey at a younger age than usual for a USHL player, Stastny scored 45 points in 42 games in his first season with the Pioneers, helping them win the MacNaughton Cup and Broadmoor Trophy.

He then helped the team win its second NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship in a row by scoring two power-play goals in the final game at the 2005 Frozen Four tournament against the North Dakota Fighting Hawks.

Stastny won the award for WCHA Rookie of the Year and was part of the WCHA All-Rookie Team and the NCAA Championship All-Tournament Team.

In 2005–06, Stastny scored 53 points in 39 games and finished seventh overall in the NCAA scoring list, tied with Matt Carle for the Pioneers' scoring lead.

He scored 44 points in 28 conference games to win the WCHA scoring title.

Stastny was part of the WCHA First All-Star Team and the NCAA West Second All-American Team, as the Pioneers finished the WCHA regular season in second place and lost in the first round of the playoffs against the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs.

He signed a contract with the Avalanche before the 2006–07 NHL season, scored 78 points in 82 games in his rookie season, and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy.

In the 2007–08 season, he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game but did not play because of an appendectomy.