Of Slovak lineage, Stastny is the son of Hockey Hall of Famer Peter Šťastný, who played for the Colorado Avalanche\'s predecessor, the Quebec Nordiques, and finished his career with the St. Louis Blues. His older brother Yan has played for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. His uncles Anton and Marian Stastny both played in the NHL during the 1980s, also for the Nordiques.\n', '

Stastny began his junior hockey career with the River City Lancers of the United States Hockey League before moving to the University of Denver Pioneers in 2004. He won the NCAA Men\'s Ice Hockey Championship in his first season playing for the Pioneers. He remained at the University of Denver for one more season. He signed a contract with the Avalanche before the 2006–07 NHL season, scored 78 points in 82 games in his rookie season and was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy. In 2007–08 he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, but didn\'t play because of an appendectomy. As a dual citizen, Stastny has chosen to play for the U.S. in international hockey competitions, which have included the 2004 Viking Cup, the 2007 IIHF World Championship, and the 2010 and 2014 Winter Olympics.\n', '

Stastny was born in Quebec City, Quebec, to Peter Šťastný (anglicised to Stastny) and his wife Darina, while Peter was playing for the Nordiques. Paul spent his early years in Quebec and New Jersey, following his father\'s career. Peter joined the St. Louis Blues in 1993 and settled there after finishing his player career, working as a scout for the team. Paul has numerous family relatives who have played in the NHL. He is the son of Czechoslovak defector and Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Peter Šťastný (surname later anglicised), the first European-trained player to reach 1,000 points in the NHL, and the nephew of retired NHL players Anton and Marian. Peter and Anton were the first two out of the three brothers to come to North America, in 1980; they were smuggled, along with Peter\'s pregnant wife with the help of the Quebec Nordiques\' owner Marcel Aubut and chief scout Gilles Léger out of Czechoslovakia to Austria. Marián arrived a year later, after Peter and Anton raised the $30,000 needed to bribe officials of the Czechoslovak government. All 3 played for Quebec from 1981–1985, which was only the third time that 3 brothers played for the same team in the NHL at the same time. The first three brothers who had played for the same team were Reg, Doug and Max Bentley, followed by the three Plager brothers, Bill, Barclay and Bob who played with the St. Louis Blues from 1968–72. Paul\'s older brother Yan has played for the Boston Bruins, Edmonton Oilers, and St. Louis Blues. He currently plays for CSKA Moscow in the KHL. Peter and Paul Stastny currently rank fourth all-time in total scoring by a father-son combination in the NHL.\n', '

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