When he makes it to the NHL -- whether it's this year or next -- Penguins prospect Jordan Staal could see complicated defensive schemes or matchups designed to slow him.

It isn't likely to be the sort of gauntlet he had to run yesterday during rookie camp.

Called out at the beginning of practice, Staal was directed to one end of the rink as the other 25 players formed two lines at center ice. Staal had to skate down the middle of the two lines, enduring taps from sticks on his legs and rear.

"It was kind of embarrassing," said Staal, a fair-skinned blond whose blush was evident to the crowd of more than 1,200 at Mellon Arena.

He probably should have expected something like that. After all, a guy's 18th birthday can hardly go by without the requisite recognition -- and proper punishment.

"I didn't think anybody even noticed," Staal said.

His birthday, he meant. He certainly hopes he's getting noticed for his hockey skills.

Staal, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound center who was the second overall draft pick in June, busted a few moves during the first scrimmage of rookie camp, 40 minutes of 4-on-4 play.

"I'm just trying to fit in," Staal said. "I feel pretty good out there.

"I'm really enjoying it and meeting people. It's fun, but it's tough. But, I think it prepares you for the main camp.

"I'm starting to get in my own groove, starting to get some more confidence here and there."

Staal can rest assured that general manager Ray Shero, hired just weeks before the draft, is noticing.

"He's got the hands and the reach," Shero said. "He's got that size, and it's so hard to defend guys like that, especially in a 4 on 4. He's as advertised, which is nice."

If it weren't for Russian prospect Evgeni Malkin, the second overall pick in 2004, Staal would be the star of rookie camp.

In a highly publicized adventure this summer, Malkin sneaked away from his Russian pro team to come to the United States and sign with the Penguins.

"It's got to be tough for him," said Staal, who sits next to Malkin in the visitors locker room being used during rookie camp.

"He really doesn't know any English at all. I'm always trying to help him through, make him feel welcome. I'm kind of going through the same stages, but there's no language barrier."

There is an age difference. Malkin turned 20 in July.

Although the Penguins are calling this first-year preface to training camp a rookie camp, many of the prospects have more experience than Staal in junior, the minor leagues, college or even the NHL, and all are older than him. The average age of the 26 players is about 20 years, 7 months.

Staal is a month younger than Penguins center Sidney Crosby was last year.

Crosby, though, was the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, and there really was no question that he was slated to spend last season in the NHL. He reached 102 points and was runner-up for the Cader Trophy for league rookie of the year.

Staal could be sent back to his junior team in Peterboro for another season, but it won't be because Shero is holding Staal's age against him.

"I think I want to have an open mind," Shero said. "I want to see how he does, see him in some exhibition games, see how he fits in both on and off the ice.

"Hopefully, the decision won't be a hard one. Hopefully, it's clear-cut either that we've got to keep him to start the season or we've got to send him back, which would be OK because we're in this for the long term."

In the short term, Staal planned to have a low-key birthday, his teammates' antics notwithstanding.

"I might get a few phone calls here and there," he said. "That's about it."

NOTES -- At what was supposed to be the end of his first scrimmage shift, Malkin didn't understand the call to change players or a couple of shouts of "Hey!" from teammates, so he stayed on the ice for a couple of extra rushes before turning and going off. It was unofficially his first double-shift in a Penguins sweater. ... Winger Moises Gutierrez went crashing into the corner boards and left with an apparent left leg injury. ... Practices aren't open to the public again until the main training camp starts Friday.