By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Peter Diana/Post-Gazette
Penguins forward Jordan Staal has scored 48 points this season.
Nicklas Backstrom is the NHL's fourth-leading scorer, and centers one of the game's most fearsome lines. He could have been a Penguin.
Jonathan Toews ranks among hockey's finest two-way forwards, with intangibles that might be even more valuable than his talents. He could have been a Penguin.
Phil Kessel is one of hockey's great pure goal-scorers and, yes, he could have been a Penguin.
All were top-five choices in the 2006 NHL entry draft, and all have lived up to the promise that made them elite prospects.
"That was a fantastic draft class," said Penguins general manager Ray Shero, a guy who passed on all of those players.
And never has regretted doing it. Or, for that matter, had much reason to.
Because the Penguins, who owned the second choice in that draft, opted to spend it on Jordan Staal, who has proven to be an ideal complement to centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and who has emerged as a legitimate contender for the Selke Trophy, which goes to the NHL's top defensive forward, this season.
Staal is the Penguins' No. 3 scorer, with 21 goals and 27 assists in 76 games, but offense is not the most significant element of his game. When the Penguins' lineup is intact, Staal centers the third line, generally with Matt Cooke and Tyler Kennedy on his wings, and logs a lot of ice time against opponents' top forwards.
Some of that comes during the team-high average -- that's among all players, not just forwards -- of three minutes, 15 seconds that he spends killing penalties.
Not coincidentally, the Penguins' short-handed unit is developing into one of the most efficient in the NHL. It ranks fifth in the league with a success rate of 84.5 percent, and recorded 33 consecutive kills before allowing a goal in the third period of the Penguins' 5-4 shootout victory Sunday against Toronto.
Staal's penalty-killing prowess is part of the reason he has earned a place alongside the likes of Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, Vancouver's Ryan Kesler and Toews, among others, on the list of serious Selke candidates.
"I'd certainly have him in the mix with anyone they'd consider," Shero said.
While it's hard to project Staal as a favorite -- players often don't win the Selke until a couple of seasons after they first deserve to, and continue to contend for it for a year or two after their work no longer merits it -- Staal certainly is worthy of consideration.
Teammate Craig Adams draws an NHL paycheck because of his defensive abilities -- he has gone 105 games without scoring a goal -- so he has a keen appreciation of what Staal does in his own zone.
"He knows where he's supposed to be, and he's there, consistently," Adams said. "Secondly, when he gets there, to his spot, he's so big [6 feet 4, 220 pounds] and strong that if he leans on a guy, there's a pretty good chance that he's getting the puck. And when he gets the puck, most of the time he makes the right play with it, and we're out of our end."
Staal never has been a prolific scorer -- the 29 goals he got as an NHL rookie exceeded the total he recorded in either of his two seasons with Peterborough in the Ontario Hockey League -- but recognized the importance of contributing at both ends of the ice long before joining the Penguins.
"I've always been on a really good team, and I was never the offensive guy to go and score goals," he said. "In Peterborough, I was on the second or third line for a while.
"I've always been in that role where I needed to play well defensively. To get on this team [as a 17-year-old], I needed to play that way and needed to be counted on defensively. It's just kind of taken off from there."
That commitment hasn't gone unnoticed. Staal has served as an alternate captain for the past three games, when defenseman Sergei Gonchar was unable to play because of illness.
"He's well-respected by his teammates," Shero said.
And very much appreciated by the guy who passed on some pretty impressive talents in order to add Staal to the Penguins' depth chart.
"Those top five guys [in the 2006 draft] are really, really good players," Shero said. "But Jordan has been just a great fit for us.
"I know those other teams are happy with their guys, as they should be. But we're very happy with Jordan."
NOTE -- Gonchar worked out on the ice with conditioning coach Mike Kadar for about a half-hour Monday. His teammates had the day off.
For more on the Penguins, read the Pens Plus blog with Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson at www.post-gazette.com/plus. Dave Molinari: dmolinari@post-gazette.com.
Penguins Plus, a blog by Dave Molinari and Shelly Anderson, is featured exclusively on PG+, a members-only web site from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.
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