Evgeni Malkin's NHL career has gotten off to a truly fabulous start; the Russian phenom has scored goals in his first five NHL games, and has quickly emerged as a top candidate for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.

That Malkin is excelling is of little surprise. Widely considered the finest player outside the NHL last year, he merited strong consideration by the Washington Capitals when they were debating what to do with the first overall pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. (They selected Alexander Ovechkin, who's worked out just fine.) A talented playmaker with elite-level finishing skills and an unshakeable defensive conscience, Malkin has evoked comparisons to everyone from Mario Lemieux to Sergei Fedorov. But as yet, he appears unfazed by the attention.

"It's great everybody compares me with Mario Lemieux," Malkin said in an NHL conference call on Monday. "Of course, when everybody compare me to Mario Lemieux, it's an honor. He's the best player. I have to prove a lot more what I can do on the ice."

Currently playing alongside Sidney Crosby on the Pens' top line, Malkin appears to be equally comfortable at center or on the wing. But Malkin hasn't been completely pleased with his play thus far, and he credits Crosby for making the transition from center to wing a bit easier.

"It's great to play with Sidney Crosby because he's one of the best players," Malkin said. "It's still a little bit difficult because I'm not used to playing on the wing. I think it's going to take a little bit of time. But I think I will play my role better and better because it's easy to play with a player like Sidney Crosby."

The Penguins boast the NHL's most impressive core of young talent, with Crosby, Malkin, defenseman Ryan Whitney, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury leading the way. But they also have another youngster who is forcing his way into the limelight with some very strong play through the season's first few weeks.

18-year-old Jordan Staal, younger brother of Hurricanes center Eric and Rangers prospect Marc, is taking a regular shift centering the Pens' second line, and is one of the team's most effective penalty-killers. At 6'4" and 220 pounds, Staal is deceptively fast. Three of his first four NHL goals have come while short-handed, with one of them a game-winner. And as he fills out, Staal should develop into an absolute force for the Pens.

There was some debate as to whether the Pens were going to keep Staal with the big club or send him back to the Peterborough Petes, his junior hockey team. But his stellar performance through the season's first ten games gave Penguins GM Ray Shero no choice: Staal had to stay. And the Pens' future star was very pleased to earn the opportunity to remain with the fast-rising Penguins, who are only one point behind the Atlantic Division-leading New Jersey Devils with two games in hand.

"I've been really working hard the last couple weeks to get where I am," Staal said in Monday's joint conference call. "I think I had a few bounces here and there. I think overall I've worked really hard to get here. I'm glad to be part of this team. It's a great bunch of guys in the dressing room. I've really been enjoying myself the last couple weeks. I'm just really glad to be part of this team finally. I’m just really focused on being on this team and obviously getting some wins."

With the likes of Crosby, Malkin, and Staal leading the way, the Pens' future is very bright indeed. And with new owner Jim Balsillie righting the financial side of things, it's far more likely that the Pens will—for a very pleasant change of pace—be buyers rather than sellers as the trade deadline approaches.