Paul Stastny certainly has many ties to the city of Denver and the franchise for whom he plays. His father is Peter Stastny, a Hall-of-Famer for the Quebec Nordiques and the mentor to a young Joe Sakic. Paul played his collegiate hockey right here in Denver for the University of Denver Pioneers and helped them capture an NCAA Championship in 2005.
The second-round pick of the Avalanche turned pro after two years at DU and went straight to the NHL without a stint in the AHL.
Stastny had a great rookie year, scoring an Avalanche rookie record 78 points in 82 games and broke the NHL's all time rookie scoring streak with 20 games, surpassing future Hall-of-Famer Teemu Selanne's previous mark of 17 games.
He finished second in the voting for the Calder Trophy to Evgeni Malkin, who can be argued is the best player in the world today.
His second NHL season was also a success as he got 71 points in 66 games and was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, although he was unable...
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