Hockey Staal In Iowa

It's not often I cover the same topic on consecutive days, but this one seems like it might be fun. I wrote yesterday about Eric Staal's debut with the AHL's Iowa Wild. Everything seemed to have went well as he scored a goal and earned an assist in his first AHL game in years as he gets into Olympic shape for Canada, but we all know that getting older means the creaks and the aches get a little harder to dismiss on a second day of hard work. And wouldn't you know it, but the Iowa Wild were back in action on Saturday against the Chicago Wolves again, so Eric Staal was back on the ice as well! Would the 37 year-old look as good as he did one night earlier in helping Iowa defeat Chicago?

In one single, solitary word: absolutely.

Let's go to the highlight that justifies the selection of that word.
That's Eric Staal scoring the overtime game-winner against the Chicago Wolves tonight on a great shot that shows he can still snipe if given time and space. Being that AHL goalies are pretty good in most cases, I'd say that Staal looks pretty well-prepared to lead Team Canada in Beijing if he's selected. And, based on his two-game weekend performance, he should be selected.

I made the comment on Friday that we, as fans, should expect "Staal parked in front and cleaning up on the doorstep" in terms of scoring most of his goals, but it's pretty clear that the big kid from Thunder Bay, Ontario still has the shot that got him into the NHL based on the above display. Perhaps I was far too quick to write off Staal's hands when it might just be that he slowed down in his advancing age. He likely won't win foot-races down the ice for loose pucks, but he can still wire it from the slot if given the opportunity.

I'm convinced that Staal is a good choice for Canada in Beijing. While this blog isn't changing its name to Hockey Staal In Iowa as the title of this article reads, seeing Staal play well on back-to-back nights while scoring at a goal-per-game pace and being out on the ice in all situations means that Canada is getting a guy who looks ready to go when his name is announced next week.

I still won't buy a Canadian jersey with that stupid black maple leaf on it, but I did entertain the thought of an Eric Staal Team Canada jersey for a second or two. But only for a second or two.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!