Jordan Staal Jordan Lee Staal ( born September 10 , 1988 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He is regarded as one of the NHL ' s premier penalty - killers , both for his strong defensive skills , along with his scoring touch that makes him a threat for shorthanded goals . Staal grew up playing minor hockey for the Thunder Bay Kings AAA organization . After his minor midget year , Staal was selected in the 1st round ( 3rd overall ) by the Peterborough Petes . After a two - year Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) career , in which he won a J . Ross Robertson Cup and appeared in the 2006 Memorial Cup with the Peterborough Petes , Staal was drafted second overall by the Penguins in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft . He made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL after being drafted and set several NHL records in his rookie season , including youngest player to score on a penalty shot , to score two shorthanded goal s in one game , to score a hat trick , and the most shorthanded goals by a rookie in one season . Staal was also a Calder Memorial Trophy nominee and was named to the NHL All - Rookie Team . Among his Penguins teammates , Staal is known as " Gronk " . The nickname , which is a reference to the Marvel comic book supervillain , was given to him by former Penguins teammate Colby Armstrong , because of his strong and large on - ice presence . Staal is one of four brothers playing professional hockey in North America , three of whom are in the NHL , including Eric of the Carolina Hurricanes , and Marc of the New York Rangers . The youngest brother Jared signed with the Carolina Hurricanes on May 29 , 2010 , but has yet to actually play an NHL game and is now playing for the Florida Everblades of the ECHL . Playing career . Peterborough Petes . Staal played major junior in the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) with the Peterborough Petes for two seasons , beginning in 2004 – 05 after having been selected third overall in the 2004 OHL Priority Draft . In his second year with the club , he produced at a point - per - game pace with 28 goals and 68 points in 68 games before adding 16 points in the playoffs to help lead Peterborough to the J . Ross Robertson Cup as OHL champions . Earning a berth in the 2006 Memorial Cup , the Petes did not , however , make it past the round - robin . During the course of the 2005 – 06 season , Staal was also selected to play in the 2006 CHL Top Prospects Game . Going into the 2006 NHL Entry Draft , Staal was ranked second among North America n skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau , behind Erik Johnson of the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers . He went on to be drafted second overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins , behind Johnson , who was selected by the St . Louis Blues . Jordan became the third among the four Staal brothers to be drafted into the NHL after his older brothers Marc and Eric , who was also selected second overall . Pittsburgh Penguins . Staal was signed to a three - year , entry - level contract by the Penguins on October 2 , 2006 , and made the immediate jump from junior to the NHL in 2006 – 07 at the age of 18 . He scored his first NHL goal on October 12 , a shorthanded breakway marker against New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in a 6 – 5 win . Later that month , on October 21 , Staal set a pair of NHL records with a two - goal effort against the Columbus Blue Jackets . In addition to becoming the youngest player to record a two - goal game since Bep Guidolin of the Boston Bruins did so at the age of 18 years and 12 days on December 21 , 1943 , Staal also scored both his goals on the penalty kill , becoming the youngest player to record two shorthanded goals in one game ( surpassing Radek Dvorak of the Florida Panthers , who did so at 20 years and 278 days on December 12 , 1997 ) . Having scored his second shorthanded marker on a penalty shot , Staal additionally became the youngest player to score on a penalty shot , surpassing Nathan Horton , who scored with Florida at 18 years and 224 days on January 8 , 2004 . Early in Staal ' s rookie season , however , there was still speculation that he would be returned to his junior team before playing his 10th game to avoid allowing him to accrue a full season under the NHL ' s collective bargaining agreement . However , due to his strong play , particularly on the penalty - kill , the Penguins chose to keep him for the remainder of the season . Staal , along with fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin joined superstar Sidney Crosby , who had himself only entered his second NHL season , and goaltender Marc - Andre Fleury to form an effective young nucleus that revived the Penguins franchise . In January 2007 , Staal participated in the NHL YoungStars Game during the All - Star festivities , along with teammates Ryan Whitney and Malkin . Shortly thereafter , on February 10 , 2007 , Staal scored his first NHL career hat trick against the Toronto Maple Leafs and set yet another NHL record by becoming the youngest player in league history to score a hat trick at 18 years and 153 days . His first goal came at 19 : 22 in the first period , the second came at 3 : 32 in the second , and his third was the game winner , as he beat Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft stick - side at 3 : 54 in overtime . The previous mark had been held for over sixty years by Jack Hamilton , who achieved a four - goal game at 18 years and 185 days old with the Maple Leafs against the New York Rangers on December 4 , 1943 . Then , late in the season , on March 6 , Staal scored his league - leading seventh shorhanded goal of the season to break the previous league record for shorthanded tallies by a rookie , set by Gerry Minor of the Vancouver Canucks in 1980 – 81 and matched by John Madden in 1999 – 2000 . The goal cued a late third period comeback for the Penguins to win 5 – 4 in a shootout against the Ottawa Senators . Staal completed his rookie season with 29 goals , second in rookie goal - scoring to teammate Malkin , and 42 points for a Calder Memorial Trophy nomination . The award was given to Malkin , while Staal finished third in voting , behind first runner - up Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche . Staal also joined Malkin and Stastny on the NHL All - Rookie Team . The next season , in 2007 – 08 , however , Staal ' s production suffered a setback , managing just 12 goals and 28 points . Regardless , he was an integral part of the Penguins ' 2008 playoff run to the Stanley Cup Finals against the Detroit Red Wings . Playing in the semi - finals against the Philadelphia Flyers , Staal briefly left the Penguins to attend his grandfather ' s funeral during the series , but returned for a two - goal game four effort , in which he cued a near - comeback in the third period to cut the Flyers lead to 3 – 2 . The Penguins were eventually defeated 4 – 2 , but managed to eliminate the Flyers the following game . As the Penguins made their first Stanley Cup Final appearance since 1992 , the last time they won the Stanley Cup , they were defeated in six games by the Red Wings . Staal contributed 6 goals and 1 assist during the playoff run . Early in the 2008 – 09 season , the Penguins and Red Wings met for the first time since the Stanley Cup series on November 11 , 2008 . With the Penguins down by three goals in the third period , Staal notched his second career NHL hat trick to tie the game , then set up Ruslan Fedotenko ' s overtime winner to defeat the Red Wings 7 – 6 . On December 2 , 2008 , he was named to the rotating position of alternate captain for the Penguins for the month of December . The following month , on January 8 , 2009 , the Penguins announced that they had extended Staal ' s contract through the 2012 – 13 season . Terms of the contract were for $ 16 million , payable as $ 3 . 5 million for the first two seasons , and then $ 4 . 5 million for the last two years , resulting in a $ 4 . 0 million salary cap hit . He completed the season bouncing back from the decreased production of his sophomore year with a career - high 27 assists and 49 points . On June 12 , 2009 , Staal and the Penguins won the Stanley Cup when they defeated the Detroit Red Wings 2 - 1 at Joe Louis Arena . Staal had two goals and an assist in the seven - game series , and scored a shorthanded goal that was a pivotal point in Game 4 of the series . At the end of the regular season , Staal was named as one of the three finalists for the Selke Trophy along with Pavel Datsyuk and Ryan Kesler , awarded annually to the best defensive forward in the league . On April 30 , 2010 Staal injured his right leg after his foot was sliced by Montreal Canadiens defenseman P . K . Subban ' s skate . He had to undergo surgery to repair a torn tendon on top of his big toe . During this injury , Staal ended up missing Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Canadiens , the first game Staal had missed in a Penguins uniform since his rookie season - a streak of 358 consecutive games played including the playoffs . Staal missed the entire first month of October , still recovering from foot surgery . Then on November 1 , just two days before he was to make his season debut , he was struck by a puck in practice , fracturing his hand and sidelining him again for surgery . Staal finally made his season debut at the NHL Winter Classic on January 1 , 2011 . International play . Staal made his international debut with Team Canada at the 2007 World Championships in Moscow . Named to the team following the Penguins ' first - round playoff defeat , he joined brother Eric to help Canada capture the gold medal by defeating Finland 4 – 2 in the final . In 9 games , Staal contributed 2 assists . Staal family . Born in Thunder Bay , Ontario , Staal grew up playing ice hockey with his three brothers on an outdoor rink built by their father Henry . All of the Staal brothers have been drafted into the NHL . Older brothers Eric , drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2003 , and Marc , drafted by the New York Rangers in 2005 , both play with Jordan in the NHL , while younger brother Jared was drafted in 2008 by the Phoenix Coyotes and is currently playing for the Hurricanes minor league team . Jordan and Eric have played together on one occasion , as part of Team Canada ' s 2007 World Championship gold medal - winning team , while also competing against each other in the NHL , including their high - profile matchup in the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals . He has also met Marc ' s New York Rangers in the 2008 playoffs . Jordan has eliminated his brothers with the Penguins in both instances . Jordan has become the second brother to win a Stanley Cup ( Pittsburgh 2009 ) behind older brother Eric ( Carolina 2006 ) . In the summer of 2007 , Jordan was arrested at Eric ' s bachelor party . Eric was charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process , while spending the night in jail . Jordan was also cited with underage drinking .