Why does paul stastny play for usa

Years ago, the year-old Stastny could have tried his luck with Canada, despite the deeper talent pool. He, like the other Stastny children including Yan, who scored three goals last season in 34 games with the St. Paul lived there as a boy until the age of six and still understands although rarely speaks French. Louis, where he has been based almost 15 years. He still spends summers there with his family. Peter checks in for at least six weeks.

You get a chance to play for the country you're raised in, that's a source of pride. Obviously my home is always going to be in the United States. But we speak Slovakian at home. That's where all my blood is. All the family bloodlines go through Slovakia. The entire Stastny family returned to Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia, last month, the first time in 12 years they all gone back together.

If Paul's language skills had deteriorated, they were revived by the visit although he won't get much chance to use them around Team USA. All my friends and everyone I played hockey with are in the U.

Louis after hockey season, maintaining a home in Denver when the Avalanche is playing. It's still one of my main homes. Paul said neither he nor Yan was pushed to play hockey. On the contrary, he said, all of the Stastny children were encouraged to carve their own stations in life. He knew we we're going to be ourselves, that we were going to make our own reputations as people. I think he's the perfect role model to look up to. He never pushed us into hockey.

We played every sport growing up, but hockey came natural because of my dad and uncles. With the help of the Quebec Nordiques of the NHL, the three fled to the airport in the cover of night and flew to Quebec and freedom. At the time, the league was dominated by North American players, but the Stastnys, the first communist defectors to play in the NHL, brought a different style when they suited up for the Nordiques. A year later, Peter and Anton pooled their money and bought freedom for their older brother, Marian, who had stayed behind in Czechoslovakia.

Reunited again, the three were stars for Quebec for a better part of the s. Peter was the Rookie of the Year in , and he became the first European player to amass 1, points in the NHL.

The three even skated on the same line while with the Nordiques. I have in my office a big picture of the three of us, almost 30 years old. Player Statistics. Tournament Statistics. You need to have EP Premium to view these stats. Sign up at the top of the website. Skill Rating. Shooting Accuracy. Go Premium to access this content Get access to Skill Rating and many more premium features Sign up for premium.

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