James Neal James Neal ( born September 3 , 1987 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . While playing junior with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) , he was selected 33rd overall by the Dallas Stars in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft . After a season with the Stars ' American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Iowa Stars , he played his NHL rookie years with Dallas in 2008 – 09 . During his third NHL season , he was traded to the Penguins . Playing career . Neal grew up playing minor hockey for the Whitby Wildcats of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association ( OMHA ) ' s Eastern AAA League . Among his minor hockey coaches was NHL broadcaster Bob McKenzie . After his midget season , he was selected by the Plymouth Whalers in the third round , 80th overall , of the 2003 Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) Priority Selection . Before joining the major junior ranks , he was assigned to the Bowmanville Eagles , a Junior A club of the Ontario Hockey Association ( OHA ) , for the 2003 - 04 season . Following his rookie season in the OHL , he was selected in the second round , 33rd overall , of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars . Competing in his first NHL training camp , the Stars returned him to junior , where he recorded 21 goals and 58 points with Plymouth in 2005 – 06 . Although Neal was returned again to junior following the Stars ' 2006 training camp , he was signed by the club to a three - year , entry - level contract in late - October 2006 . He recorded a junior career - hgih 27 goals and 65 points over 45 games in 2006 – 07 . During the season , he was chosen to represent the Western Conference in the 2007 OHL All - Star Game and scored a goal . He also helped Plymouth win the OHL title and led all tournament scorers with five goals in the Memorial Cup , held in Vancouver . In 2007 – 08 , Neal played with Dallas ' minor league affiliate , the Iowa Stars . Neal scored his first career NHL goal in his first NHL game on October 10 , 2008 in Dallas against Pascal Leclaire of the Columbus Blue Jackets . His first multi - point NHL game came on November 26 , 2008 , with a two - goal effort against the Minnesota Wild . Famously , Neal ' s first NHL fight proved to be a memorable and quick victory . On December 18 , 2008 , Neal was challenged to a fight by Columbus Blue Jackets ' forward Derick Brassard , after Neal checked his opponent Fedor Tyutin hard into the corner of the Columbus zone in the first period . Neal obliged , and produced a gash near Brassard ' s left eye with a powerful right punch . Brassard quickly called the fight off , where it was later disclosed that he had dislocated his right shoulder and subsequently ended his season . Five days later , he scored his first NHL hat trick during a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 23 , 2008 , in an 8 - 2 win . His early season performance led to a nomination to the YoungStars roster for the 57th National Hockey League All - Star Game in Montreal . He also broke the Stars ' team record for goals scored by a rookie ( not including the franchise ' s years as the Minnesota North Stars ) , surpassing Jussi Jokinen ' s record of 17 goals set in 2005 – 06 , in a 10 - 2 rout of the New York Rangers on February 6 , 2009 . He completed the campaign with 24 goals and 37 points . On October 3 , 2009 , Neal recorded the Stars ' first and second goals of the season against the Nashville Predators . He improved to 55 points in his second NHL season . On September 16 , 2010 , Neal signed a two - year contract extension with the Stars , worth $ 2 . 25 million the first year and $ 3 . 5 million the second . Leading up to the 2010 – 11 trade deadline , Neal was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins , along with defenceman Matt Niskanen , for defenceman Alex Goligoski on February 21 , 2011 . Neal scored his first career playoff goal on April 20 against the Tampa Bay Lightning in double overtime to give Pittsburgh a 3 - 1 series lead . International play . In the off - season , he was invited to the Canadian national junior team ' s summer evaluation camp . His physical presence and hard hitting impressed the coaches and he was brought back to the team ' s selection camp in December 2006 . His play earned him a spot on the club for the 2007 World Junior Championships in Sweden , where he helped Canada to a gold medal . Two years later , Neal moved on to Canada ' s men ' s team for the 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland . He notched three points in as many contests , helping Canada to a silver medal finish in the tournament . In 2011 he played for team Canada at the 2011 IIHF World Championship in Slovakia Personal life . His younger brother , Michael Neal , plays in the Stars organization . James went to All Saints Catholic Secondary School in Whitby , Ontario . James has three younger brothers ( Micheal , Peter , Nicohlas , ) and one younger sister ( Rebecca )