Even the darkest, coldest nights of the winter couldn't stop Eric Staal from doing what he loves to do best.

Staal would come home from school, slip on his skates and grab his stick and head to the outdoor rink -- 50 feet wide by 100 feet long, complete with boards, lights and ringed with wire mesh -- his dad built at their home in Thunder Bay, Ontario, 10 years ago. He used scrap sections of actual arenas that had been discarded after being replaced.

It didn't matter that on some days it was so cold that the spit would freeze before it hit the ground. Thunder Bay is on the shores of Lake Superior and the winters are long, dark and cold.

Staal would play 2-on-2 shinny for hours on end with his three brothers. Whoever was first to call out "Wayne Gretzky" would get the honor of pretending he was "The Great One" and would score the big goal in the big game. And because there was no goalie, the only way anyone could score was by hitting the post.

http://nhl.com/futures/2003draft/staal061603.html