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It was around the same time Eric Staal won Little League Rookie of the Year honors in the mid-1990s that he discovered his calling.

"I attended a banquet and got the award, but I knew baseball wasn't my sport," the eldest of the four hockey-playing brothers told NHL.com. "Baseball was a little slow, but hockey was more fast-paced and kept me more involved. I tried baseball the one year, but the following summer focused on hockey."

The decision by big brother to hit the ice instead of the infield ultimately paved the way for each of his younger siblings too.

"I think when you grow up (in Thunder Bay, Ontario), you see hockey all the time and you love it," Staal's father, Henry, told NHL.com. "It's the game you naturally gravitate to and it's the game everybody talks about, so that's the reason the boys probably wanted to keep with it."

NHL.com - News