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Steve Staios
Steve Staios - Starting with the Hamilton Huskies in the 1988-98 season, Steve Staios has gone on to a 20-year career in hockey, and continues to play with the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers. Born in Hamilton in July of 1973, Staios played with the Huskies and the Hamilton Kilty Bs before signing up with the Niagara Falls Thunder of the OHL for the 1990-91 season. It was during the 1991 NHL Draft that he was selected by the St. Louis Blues, but never played with the club, spending several seasons with the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL before going to the Boston Bruins in a trade in 1995. Before his foray into the majors, Staios earned a spot on the All-Ontario under-17 team to compete in the Quebec Cup during December 1989 and January of 1990. Compared by Kiltys’ team coach Scott Henderson as a young Paul Coffey with regards to speed and knowledge of the game, the then 16-year old Westdale High School student was ready and able to play in the series against Team USSR. “I’m really looking forward to the whole thing,” stated Staios at the time. “I’ve never played against the Soviets before and that’s something to thing about in itself.” With nine goals in 40 games, Staios went to Niagara Falls after being passed over by the Hamilton Dukes in the OHL draft, but he picked up 17 goals in his 66 games with the Thunder during his first season with the team. It was thought at the time he would be a first-round selection at the NHL draft later in 1991. He had spoken with six NHL clubs by May of 1991, including the Detroit Red Wings, but was taking a mature approach to the situation. “I’ve got no preference where I go,” he said. “Maybe staying close to home wouldn’t be too bad. “It’s very exciting being rated in the first round of the draft, but I think I’ve done a good job putting things into perspective and staying myself.” For the 1995-96 season Staios had limited play with the Bruins with 12 games to his credit, along with some ice time with the Providence Bruins. He played with Boston in 54 games for the next season, but then went west to play with the Vancouver Canucks for the next three seasons. During the expansion draft in 1999, the defenseman joined the Atlanta Thrashers. He remained there for the next two seasons, and reached a then career-high points tally in 2000-01 season with 22 points. He was flipped-flopped between the New Jersey Devils and then back to the Thrashers, but in 2001 went west again, signing with the Edmonton Oilers as a free agent. During his 2003-04 season with Edmonton, he amassed 28 points in 82 games. During this period Staios represented Canada at the World Championships, including three consecutive seasons (2002-2004), winning gold medals in the last two years, He also won a silver during the 2008 IIHF World Championship. Known as a hard-hitting player with a great deal of stamina, Staios
has played all 82 regular season NHL games three seasons in his
career to date. He has also been chosen as one of Edmonton’s
alternate captains on several occasions.
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