Staalling out - 11-05-08

Shelly Anderson's story about Jordan Staal's struggles sent us on a scavenger hunt of sorts. Given that Staal has had issues finding the net since his rookie season, when he netted 29 goals, we dug through Hockey-Reference.com in the office last night looking any other former first-round picks who failed to reach the 20-goal plateau after hitting that mark in their freshman campaign.

We found eight players, including Staal, who have had that occur during their career.

Player, Team	Rookie Season	Goals
Wayne Dillon, Rangers	1975-76	21
Barry Beck, Rockies	1977-78	22
Jere Gillis, Canucks	1977-78	23
Dmitri Kvartalnov, Bruins	1992-93	30
Dion Phaneuf, Flames	2005-06	20
Jordan Staal, Penguins	2006-07	29
Tuomo Ruutu, Blackhawks	2003-04	23
R.J. Umberger, Flyers	2005-06	20

NOTES:

-Chicago forwards Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Phoenix forward Peter Mueller all reached the 20-goal mark as rookies last season. For obvious reasons they were not included in the above list.

-The fact that Beck or Phaneuf ever scored 20 goals as defensemen is nothing short of amazing. They're two of three blueliners to have ever reached the mark in their first season in the NHL. Despite injures, Beck was able to still be a viable offensive threat throughout this career. While Phaneuf has yet to hit the 20-goal mark for a second time in his young career, he has developed into one of the top defensemen in the league.

-Dillon had a strong rookie season with the Rangers, and then struggled on Broadway the next two seasons before jumping to the WHA and Europe.

-After playing in the Soviet Union as a professional for several seasons, Kvartalnov entered the NHL as a 26-year-old "rookie" and immediately put in 30 goals for the Bruins. He spent one more season in North American before returning to Europe.

-Ruutu had a strong first season in Chicago netting 23 goals. After the lockout, injuries limited him to 15 games in 2005-06. He was relatively healthy in the next two seasons, but failed duplicate his rookie season. For what it's worth, Ruutu, now with Carolina, is on a pace for 30 goals this season.

-While Umberger's goal totals have declined every season since his rookie campaign, he has developed into a valuable two-way player and scored a career-high 50 points in 2007-08. He's currently in Columbus.

-Gillis was drafted fourth overall by the Canucks in 1977 and immediately awarded them with a 23-goal effort as a rookie. He never reached that level again and bounced around with four other teams during an NHL career that would last until 1987 as a utility player. He spent another 10 years playing in Europe. After hockey, he became a stunt man and has appeared in major movies such as "300" and "The Aviator."

We're not really sure what, if anything, you can take from this list. Each player, outside of Gillis maybe, had reasons or "excuses" for never hitting the mark again. Ruutu, Phaneuf and Staal all have lots of hockey in front of them so this list may and probably will shrink.

Looking at the list of 213 players who scored 20 or more goals in their first NHL season the trend overwhelmingly shows individuals are usually capable of reaching that plateau again.

We fully expect Staal to meet those expectations once again. It might not occur in a Penguins uniform, but the talent is there. You don't score 29 goals in the "new" NHL through luck or by accident.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Sidney Crosby doesn't know what's so special about Alexander Semin's mouth.

-Don't expect Crosby and Semin ever to come to blows over trash talk.

-The ballot for the All-Star Lame Game was released. Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Sergei Gonchar, Evgeni Malkin and Ryan Whitney are on it. Why exactly did the NHL put two players, Gonchar and Whitney (right), on it if they've missed the entire season so far due to injuries?

-The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have a game in Bridgeport, Conn. beginning at 11 a.m. today.

-The AHL Penguins have their big trio, Chris Minard, Janne Pesonen and Jeff Taffe, back together.

-Apparently frustrated with Michel Therrien's constant juggling with the lines, Peter Sikora ran an ill-fated campaign for Ohio's Supreme Court. Having lost, Sikora is expected to be back on Malkin's line for tomorrow's game against Edmonton. Uh... wait.... We got that wrong we think...

-Random YouTube Find of the Day: Former Penguins defenseman Jiri Slegr beating the tar out of Darcy Tucker, then with the Canadiens:

Atlantic Division

-Joey MacDonald's 35 saves led the Islanders to a 2-1 road win against the rival Rangers.

-As if the Devils didn't have enough injury issues, they put defenseman Andy Greene and forward Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond on injured reserve.

-In addition to replacing Martin Brodeur, New Jersey goaltender Kevin Weekes is breaking stereotypes in hockey.

Northeast Division

-An overtime goal by Mike Fisher gave the Senators a 2-1 win against the Capitals.

-By the way, was it simply a coincidence the Senators and Capitals played on the United States' Election Day?

-The Bruins demoted forward Vladimir Sobotka to Providence of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-Niclas Wallin's overtime goal gave the Hurricanes a 5-4 win at Toronto.

-Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette tied former Lightning coach John Tortorella as the winningest U.S.-born coach in NHL history. Each has 239 wins under their belts.

-Carolina activated forward Scott Walker from injured reserve and demoted former Penguins forward Dan LaCouture to Albany of the AHL.

-Check out the new mask for Carolina goaltender Cam Ward which is styled after the movie, "Cape Fear:"



-No word yet if they'll play the horrible music from that movie any time he makes a save:



-Panthers forward Cory Stillman is dealing with a concussion.

-Florida general manager Jacques Martin laid it out for his veterans.

-Atlanta general manager Don Waddell's job is safe for now.

-Which Capitals bobblhead is more accurate in relation to its inspiration: Alex Ovechkin or Bruce Boudreau?

 

Central Division

-Predators coach Barry Trotz became the 10^th coach in NHL history to coach in 750 games with one franchise.

-The Blue Jackets recalled goaltender Steve Mason from Syracuse of the AHL and demoted another goaltender, Dan LaCosta, to Syracuse.

-Columbus made a good decision by hanging on to defenseman Marc Methot.

-As if there weren't enough reasons to dislike Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios, it was revealed that he has never voted despite being a United States citizen.

-In all fairness to Chelios, he was pretty comfortable with the way King George III did things before John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and all those other punks came up with this Declaration of Independence garbage.

-Red Wings goaltender and former Penguin Ty Conklin said he would've voted for Barack Obama, but couldn't get his absentee ballot in on time.

-Former Predators forward Martin Gelinas signed with a team in Switzerland.

Northwest Division

-Roberto Luongo made 24 saves and led the Canucks to a 4-0 defeat of the Predators. Kyle Wellwood contributed two goals.

-Former Penguins forward Michel Ouellet cleared waivers and was recalled by the Canucks from Manitoba of the AHL.

-Oilers great Glenn Anderson (right) is finally getting his due as a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

-Wild forwards Stephane Veilleux and James Sheppard are pretty tight.

-Minnesota forward Erik Reitz is tough.

Pacific Division

-Chris Pronger's overtime goal gave the Ducks a 1-0 road win against the rival Kings. Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 35 saves in the win.

-Shane Doan had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes in a 4-2 win at Calgary.

-Ryane Clowe and Mike Grier each scored a goal and an assist for the Sharks in a 3-1 home win against the Wild. San Jose is no 7-0-0 at the "Shark Tank" this season.

-Ducks forward Teemu Selanne has the most career hat tricks among active players.

-Anaheim is losing patience with forward Brendan Morrison.

-The Stars have lent former Penguins forward Landon Wilson to the Red Wings' AHL affiliate in Grand Rapids.

-Dallas forwards Sean Avery and Steve Ott are a match made in heaven.

(Photos: Staal-Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press; Ruutu-Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images; Whitney-Dave Sandford/Getty Images; Ward's mask-Carolina Hurricanes; Capitals bobbleheads-Japer's Rink; Conklin-Claus Andersen/Getty Images; Anderson-Photobucket)

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Posted Nov 05 2008, 09:21 AM by Seth Rorabaugh