Thoughts On Players—Jordan Staal

At the beginning of the year, I was in the camp that thought it was fine to give Staal a taste of the Show, but that he needed to learn how to dominate in junior. Staal’s work on the penalty kill, among other things, early in the year convinced me that the child needed to stay—at least for awhile.

In any case, Staal understandably played limited minutes (Coach Therrien, likewise understandably, is cautious with his 18-year-old). Yet some of the things the child did, seriously—wow—and wow in a good way. In particular, there was the play, on the penalty kill, probably a 5 on 3, if I recall correctly, where Staal just cleared the puck with the poise of a veteran. I applauded along with the rest of the crowd—it was a play that exemplified why the Pens made the choice to keep Staal in the NHL this season.

Yet there were other moments during the game when I saw Staal’s age. He could create something along the boards, and the mere fact that he could create something was great. Yet the ability to see the play through wasn’t yet there—it was close to being there, but not fully present.

And then, of course, there was the overtime penalty shot. Pens fans know how to root for our team. The arena was standing and loud, and dare I say, there was tension. Not quite like playoff tension, but still tension. I knew Staal had the experience of playing games in similar settings in juniors, but still, at the NHL level, it can be a little different, and definitely new. What ran through my sympathetic mind was that he was eighteen—eighteen! And yet, wow, I was really rooting for the kid to score.

Staal ultimately didn’t score, and the Pens ultimately lost the game. I figured I could trust Staal not to pull an Aleksey Morozov (years ago, in a playoff series against Montreal, Morozov missed a penalty shot, and his play in the series—and dare I say, thereafter—was never the same). Missing one penalty shot wasn’t going to kill the kid’s confidence or make him distraught for too terribly long, I figured, and at least it would be a learning experience.

Overall, watching Staal played made me feel like I understood what Coach Therrien had said earlier to assembled New York media, "Eventually he’ll be a better play, but he’s eighteen years old." Therrien had explained the team didn’t want to give Staal more than he could handle.

There are two ways to look at how the Pens are handling Staal. One is that it’s fine for them to ease him into playing in the NHL. He can do what he already intuitively knows (penalty killing, which is obscene for an 18-year-old to be able to master), learn NHL systems, and learn what doesn’t work at things that—for this moment—aren’t quite as easy (finishing the plays he’s able to create).

There’s another way to look at things, too. As an old copy of The Hockey News mentioned, Staal hadn’t dominated at the junior level yet—perhaps, the thought goes, could it hurt to let the kid learn to dominate in every facet of his game at the junior level?

I understand both perspectives. Right now I’m curious to see if the Pens will release Staal and let him play in the World Juniors or not. I’m likewise curious to see what will happen as game number forty approaches. Whatever GM Shero and the organization decide to do, I’m glad I don’t have to make the kind of decisions they have to make. I understand the perspectives of those who would support more time in juniors and playing in the World Juniors; I understand those who would support the World Juniors but not a return to juniors, and I understand those who’d say "No" to anything with the word "junior" in it.

The question concerning the 18-year-old isn’t that different from the one that had to be answered at the start of the season. Does keeping him help or hinder his long-term development (and does anyone really know for sure)? All the other questions—how much does he help the team this year, and does it matter how much he helps the team this year—have to be secondary to that question as to what is in the best interests of the kid’s development.

And at this point, I know that I love watching him play in the NHL. I loved rooting for him to score that penalty shot. And yet I wonder, will he, in two years' time, be able to do what Malkin is doing this year in terms of scoring? Will playing in juniors help him do that, or will keeping him here help him do that?

But I want what’s best for the kid to have a long-term, distinguished NHL career. And if that means time at the World Juniors or time back in juniors, much as I’d miss him this year, I’d welcome him back gladly when the time comes.

@