'Canes Get Head Start on Staal Family Reunion; Acquire Jared Staal From 'Yotes

Rangers defenseman Marc Staal may have one more reason to look forward to games against the Carolina Hurricanes in the coming years.

The ‘Canes, whose star forward and captain is the eldest Staal brother, Eric, have acquired the youngest of the four Staals, Jared, from the Phoenix Coyotes today. In exchange, the ‘Yotes received the Nashville Predators’ fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which was previously acquired in a trade by Carolina.

Jared, 19, was drafted by the ‘Yotes in the second round, 49th overall, of the 2008 draft. He was the only Staal brother to be drafted outside of the first round (Eric and the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Jordan were both second overall selections, in 2003 and 2006, respectively while Marc was 12th in 2005), and his development has been the slowest of the four so far.

Here are the comments from Hurricanes President and General Manager, Jim Rutherford:

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“While Jared has yet to reach his full potential, we believe his upside gives him a chance play at the NHL level in the future. This could be an ideal situation for Jared, to continue his development in the same system as his oldest brother, Eric.”

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Playing in his fourth season as a member of the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League (the same junior team that produced Marc), Jared notched 12 goals and 49 points in 59 regular season games in 2009-10. He was scoreless in the club’s three playoff contests.

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