Wolves retiring Marc Staal’s No. 14 on Feb. 3

Highly decorated Pack player played 236 games with the team from 2003-2007 before moving onto the NHL

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Former Sudbury Wolves star Marc Staal will have his No. 14 retired by the team during a special ceremony on Feb. 3. Supplied

Highly decorated Sudbury Wolves veteran Marc Staal and his family will be on hand Feb. 3 when the Pack officially retires his No. 14 jersey.

The event is part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Staal’s jersey will be retired as part of the team’s Feb. 3 home game against the Mississauga Steelheads (game time is 7:05 p.m.).

“We have had many great players wear the Sudbury Wolves jersey and Marc is amongst the best,” said Rob Papineau, Sudbury Wolves VP and general manager. “He had an amazing career as a Wolf, leading the team to the OHL finals in his final year and earning the Playoff MVP award.

Staal played 236 regular season games for the Pack between 2003 and 2007, notching 23 goals and adding 100 assists. In addition he played 50 playoff games over the course of his time with the club.

Staal was named an assistant captain in his second year before being named the captain in his third and fourth seasons helping lead the team to the OHL finals in 2007. He has played over 1,000 career NHL games to date across three NHL clubs, including 13 seasons with the New York Rangers. Staal is currently a member of the Florida Panthers.

“He had tremendous success also representing our country twice, winning gold both times at the World Junior Championships, where he was also named the top defencemen of the tournament in 2006.

“He was our captain and now he will forever be honoured with his jersey permanently hanging in our rafters at our arena,” Papineau said. “We thank Marc for being a great Sudbury Wolf and we are excited to welcome Marc and his family back to Sudbury for this amazing honour.”

Staal and his family will be on hand for a special pregame ceremony Feb. 3 to celebrate his outstanding hockey career and accomplishments as his banner gets raised to the rafters.

Tickets are on-sale now at greatersudbury.ca/tickets or in person at the Sudbury Arena box office.

The Sudbury Wolves also provided a list of Staal’s honours earned over the course of his hockey career (organized by season).