Jordan Staal

[Ryan Van Horne]

They're pretty close in age

He is almost a full year younger than Thornton in his draft year though

Thornton was born July 79 which means he turned 18 shortly after he was drafted in June 1997 by Boston. Jordan Staal was born in September 1988, which means he'll be about two months younger than Thornton was when he was drafted. Jordan will be almost a year younger than his older brother Eric was when he was drafted, though.

 

[hawksfan50]

Game 3 last night of the series with Ottawa 67's (a 3-1 Pets win at home) --he had a goal and an assist--and IMO was the best player on the ice that night...he dominated physically --got "control" of the play by getting to pucks along the boards and wheeling away to make plays --passes and shots on goal--and he ASSERTED himself to take charge in the game--espwcially in the third period when he was just awesome ...PLUS--it wass the 1st time in the 9 or ten times I've seen him this year that he used a quick wrister from the slot to the opposing goalie's left
about 20 feet out --where ERic scores so many with a similar wicked wrister-- I was doubtful if Jordan also had the same great shot so little did i see of it before,and thus I was doubtful or at least hesitant if he really had a finisher's ability and could ever become a top scorer like Eric...because we all saw that great shot of Eric's during his draft year and you just knew he'd be good --as well as his great 2-way ability--but I had been saying Jordan was "raw" on offense--had not figured things out in that aspect YET--and was not using all his tools to best advatage..so: last night we saw a "glimpse" of what MIGHT be...IF he can be more consistent with these abilitiesnext season,he should blossom and DOMINATE the league--but even then he'll need another year more after that of Jr...however-IF he develops all that potential --because he has SIZE,SPEED,PHYSICAL PLAY,and IS DEFENSIVELY SOLID (already) --then all he needs is to hone that scoring potential to a more consistent basis...IF he can do that he'll be a monster pro!

Last night he decided to take charge himself--perhaps because the Petes have so many "vets" he was reluctant in too many games this season to really to assert himself and instead would just try to help them --in a sense he will be a better player when he decides to take over a game himslf and dominate it physically AND decides he wants to score more goals--maybe that means being more selfish --or maybe next year when the role of "go to guy" in really given to him for the first time,he'll run with it and excel...if so he couldbecome EVEN BETTER THAN ERIC--because he's more physical -and when he gets to maturity--he's going to hurt the opposition--in more ways than one...

The only part of his game last nigh that still stunk--was faceoffs--he is TERRIBLE at them and that must be his priority this summer--his coach must get him to work with a great teacher of the art--should Yannic Perreault decide to retire...........

 

[NV]

I've watched every Petes home game for the past 17 years...

Jordan Staal is weak on faceoffs but he's better than Eric was (though in junior Eric was brutal on the draws as well). The people that say he could be the best of the Staal brothers could still be right. Eric Staal really emerged as the brilliant player he is in the playoffs of his second season in Peterborough - where Jordan is now. You have to keep in mind though that when father Staal made those comments, Eric was a dominant OHL player and a high NHL pick, nothing more.

Now that Eric has emerged as one of the absolute elite players in the NHL at such a young age, the comparison is completely unfair to Jordan. Jordan may be farther ahead than Eric at the same age but the development Eric made from one year to the next was incredible. Hopefully Jordan has the same work ethic and desrie to improve. Jordan shows a lot of intensity in his game but not to the level that Eric showed yet IMO. You could see in Eric's face when he was mad and when he decided to take over the game, no one could stop him. This was in his draft year but again, he was almost a full year older in his draft year than Jordan is now.

As a Leafs fan (and obviously I have biases as a Petes fan), I'd rather have Staal than any forward in this draft. My first choice would likely be Johnson and Staal #2.

 

[Dr.Sens(e)]

I've seen Staal play a few times and like him a lot, but the Thornton comparisons are way off. It was clear even at this age that Thornton played on a different level in terms of his vision, passing and pure skill. He was the best player in the OHL his draft year. And as we see today, he is the best set-up man in the league and Jordon is not close to tracking like Big Joe. But it's an unfair comparison for Staal, because no prospect in this year's draft compares to Thornton in terms of either style or sheer potential.

For Jordan, I think he's a bit of a project, but seems to have everything you would want out of a #1 center. I know people keep bringing up the fact his bloodlines are leading to him being over-rated, but I think any 17 year old with his skill set, potential and production would be considered in the top 5 in this year's draft. In terms of upside, he is right up there with any other forward in this draft.