The conversation is lively and upbeat until suddenly the baby face look on Eric Staal's face takes on an almost life-flashes-in-front-of-you seriousness that puts age lines on this 21-year-old's happy-go-lucky face.
There's a sense of awareness and accountability that go far beyond his young age that has been brought about by Eric's quantum leap from 11 goals and 20 assists in 2003-04 to the incredible 45 goals and 55 assists he achieved this season. Everyone in sports is a part of your what-have-you-done-for-us lately mentality. And the young, Thunder Bay, Ontario, native, who grew up in competition with three younger brothers who likely will also find their way to the NHL stage, is in contemplation about taking his game to the next level.
There's a natural maturing process for all young athletes. But then, Staal isn't just another young athlete. He's an attentive kid and wants to learn everything it will take to quench his hunger to be one of the best players in the NHL. He's shown he's a thinking-man's player and quarterbacks the Carolina Hurricanes' offense.
"Big players, play big ... in big games," Staal said in a choppy, yet dramatic voice, with a fire in his eyes that is typically reserved for 25- or 30-year-old veterans, while he points squarely to his chest. How's that for accountability? From a 21-year-old kid just completing his second NHL season?
Larry Wigge has covered the NHL since 1969. The longtime NHL columnist for The Sporting News, Wigge is now an NHL.com columnist and a frequent contributor to the website.
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"We always seem to be talking about getting to the next level," Staal said, in a not-so-rare inside look at what makes him tick. "It's hard work, but it's worth it. Hard work is always worth it. And no matter what you've achieved so far, the Stanley Cup Final is the stage we all want to be on. But just being here is not good enough. After all, they don't give you a silver or bronze medal for being here. So, if you don't go for the gold, you may live to regret it the rest of your life."
While Staal and others wondered about this gifted young center's slump -- he had not scored a goal in six games entering Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals and had only one assist each in Games 1 and 2. But panic wasn't setting in like it might with most youngsters. Not with Eric, who is smart, strong and absolutely mentally tough.
"As long as I'm on the ice with a chance to make plays, I'm going to try to be as dangerous as possible to stop," Staal said. "I want to be the guy my team is counting on."
When the final buzzer sounded for Game 4, the Hurricanes had won 2-1 to take a 3-1 lead in the series -- and Staal helped set up goals by Cory Stillman and Mark Recchi in the process. And in Game 5, he scored two power-play goals and assisted on another in a 4-3 overtime loss. He and teammate Cory Stillman lead the postseason scoring charts with 24 points each
Before Game 4, teammates and opponents alike had an opinion on Staal.
"Geez, the last time I looked he was still the leading scorer in the playoffs," snorted Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour. "He could take over and dominate this series the rest of the way."
"We've been able to try and cut down his speed coming through the neutral zone," Oilers checking center Michael Peca said. "That's always the key with a big, strong, fast kid with the skill he's got. You give him that room in the neutral zone where he can skate and he's going to be effective. We've been lucky so far."
The Oilers are clearly not taking Eric Staal for granted. They know he could take over this series if they let down even a little bit.
"I remember a play in the Buffalo series where he swung behind the net and gave you one of those Messier-type looks," Edmonton Oilers coach Craig MacTavish said. "It was like he was saying, 'Give me the puck. It's my turn to make the difference.' He's got that kind of game. He's got that kind of skill, that kind of desire."
For Staal, getting to the next level could happen on the next shift. In fact, it may have already happened with his two-assist performance in Game 4 and three-point effort in Game 5. And when we look back, we'll see that it's all a part of the evolution that started when Eric opened some eyes last season, when he totaled 26 goals and 51 assists for Lowell of the American Hockey League.
"I told Eric he was ready for a bigger role and all he needed to do was to work on his speed, size, strength and power," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said just before the Stanley Cup Final.
We all know that hockey is all about strength, mental and physical strength. And while Eric had already shown everyone his impeccable skills with the puck and understanding of the game, the next step was getting stronger so that he could ward off grown men. That little pep talk helped spur Staal to add about 10 pounds to his 6-foot-3 frame and added another ton of confidence in this multi-dimensional talent.
Oilers coach Craig MacTavish on Staal:
"I remember a play in the Buffalo series where he swung behind the net and gave you one of those Messier-type looks. It was like he was saying, 'Give me the puck. It's my turn to make the difference.' He's got that kind of game. He's got that kind of skill, that kind of desire."
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"I'm two years older than I was in my rookie season, I'd like to think I found my game in that time," he said, self-assuredly. "There is something to getting older and more comfortable with the little things you need to do to progress and produce at a rate you feel you should."
It starts with the maturing process we all go through. But there is also more than a leap of faith here with Staal.
"For me, it starts with some pretty good family qualities that I was brought up with, like hard work and a good feeling when you put in a hard day of work," he added. "You don't learn anything in this game unless you talk to the veterans you have around you ... and, for me, how could I not benefit from advice I got in my rookie year from Ron Francis and this year from Rod Brind'Amour. You kind of put all of that together along with the knowledge that the team was going to play me more ... and count on me more ... and that kind of confidence is, well, it's priceless."
Confidence in competition has never been lacking in the Staal family, where Eric was the first-round draft choice, second overall, by the Hurricanes in 2003. Marc, a defenseman, was a first-round pick by the New York Rangers, 12th overall, last year. Jordan, another center, will be no worse than a top five pick in this year's draft and Jared, a right winger, was recently the fourth Staal to be picked in the first round of the Ontario Hockey League's priority draft.
It all started on a 50x100-foot rink, with boards and lights, that Henry and Linda Staal built to keep their sons out of mischief on their 500-acre sod farm. Everyone worked long days in the hot sun and then had fun on the rink afterward.
"Before the kids would practice, we'd warm up by playing keep-a-way," Staal said with a gleam of competitiveness in his eyes. "Sometimes it was one guy with the puck against ... maybe 17. Dad taught us how to protect the puck and keep it moving. It's the best thing we all learned on that old backyard rink."
When there wasn't enough for a team, the Staals square off 2-on-2, with the oldest and youngest teaming up against the middle boys. Marc said he and Jordan used to win all the time, but Eric disputes that claim.
"We always pushed one another to do better," Eric said.
He is now 6-4, 205 pounds. And with his lanky arms, deft hands and powerful stride, Staal is ideally built for the NHL's new emphasis on speed and skill. He's become a quiet presence for the Hurricanes. Hockey is Eric's life, leaving little time for anything else but eating, sleeping and watching the occasional DVD or playing a little Tiger Woods golf on his PSP hand-held gaming system.
The Oilers can feel lucky Eric Staal didn't do more damage in the first three games of the Stanley Cup Final.
"His skating is the biggest improvement from when he played in 2003-04," said teammate Mark Recchi, who faced Staal several times that season and earlier this season while he was at Pittsburgh. "He used to be a strong skater. Now, from end to end, he's probably our fastest guy -- and he really excels at creating distance between himself and an opponent. Now that I see him every night, I'm pretty amazed at his passion for the game for such a young guy. He's big and strong down low. In that respect, he reminds me of the way Joe Thornton developed from a high draft choice by Boston to the NHL's leading scorer this season in San Jose. The same kind of production is in store for Eric."
Teammate Doug Weight agrees with the passion part of Staal's game.
"To me, it's the want," Weight said. "He wants to learn and asks some pretty good questions of the other veterans on the team. He wants all the extra ice time Peter Laviolette will give him. And he wants to be a great player in this game.
"He sees the ice like a lot of the greats from the past. He has the size of a Joe Thornton, the huge strong strides of a Mark Messier, but put him in a 1-on-1 fight and he plays stronger and more physical like a power forward like Cam Neely. He's clearly the total package."
Add to that a sense of awareness and accountability that go far beyond his young age and it's clear that he has all the answers, even for those what-have-you-done-for-us lately questions.
