The wiry forward has yet to fully grow into his body and it shows. He will play at six-foot-four and 220-pounds when all is said and done. He skates well but will only get better with added leg strength and ice time. He has a great reach and soft hands that he uses to score in tight. He has good hockey sense and vision along with nice playmaking abilities. Staal is extremely raw in his abilities. Being a somewhat of a project, he has many areas of his game in which to improve upon. His offensive upside is not projected to come close to Eric or Jordan’s but he could still surprise. Physically he will need to develop more strength and also work on his skating stride. (May 2008)