Usually when the light bulb goes off in my head with an idea for the newest UNDER THE RAYDAR candidate, the focus is mainly on up-and-coming forwards with an occasional sprinkling of a defenseman or goalie thrown in the mix. Plus, I usually don't think of my hometown team, the New York Rangers, for reasons consciously unknown. FYI, I do not draft any Rangers for my fantasy teams, but if I do, it is very rare.  On my way to work this morning, it came to me, but it came to me via thinking of another player. The departure of Head Coach John Tortorella had Ranger fans salivating at the possibility of more offense under new Head Coach Alain Vigneault who was bringing his offensive style of play. All eyes turned to Rick Nash and the season he was going to have.  There was also the prospect of Brad Richards returning with a bit more focus on producing his normal stats.  There was even talk about Michael Del Zotto finally being let loose and having the career year everyone has been waiting for.  No one even remotely had thought about Marc Staal fitting into the offensive picture, especially since he was returning from a serious eye injury sustained last season.  But there he was, in the opening day lineup and playing on the top power play unit, logging in the most time on the PP by a Ranger defenseman. Marc Staal comes from a family where three of his brothers are also in the NHL, currently playing with, or in the farm system, of the Carolina Hurricanes. Eric and Jordan are main constituents for the Canes offense while youngest brother Jared is trying to make his way to the big leagues.  There seems to be a lot of waiting when it comes to players named Staal.  Oldest brother Eric, who in just his second season (2005-2006), scored 100 points in a full season and has yet to near that mark again, the closest being 82 points he scored in 2007-2008.  Canes fans, as well as fantasy fans, have been waiting for that magical season again. Jordan was acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins and ever since his arrival to the NHL, everyone has been waiting for him to break into the elite level or at least close to it.  He seems to be a 50-point player as he has reached or neared that mark in 3 of his 7 NHL seasons. Marc never had that label pinned on him, being that he was a defenseman, he wasn't expected to be a big scorer. In his first 2 years in the NHL, he played under Tom Renney and played just 2 games shy of two full seasons, showing that he could play at the NHL level.  He didn't produce much in the way of points but he showed his value on the defensive side of the puck.  He was developing nicely as an NHL defenseman but in his third year the Rangers went in another direction and hired Tortorella, who preached defense first and sacrificing your body for the goaltender.  This sidetracked Staal's development but he did manage to increase his point totals under Torts to 27 and 29 points in back-to-back seasons. Prior to playing with the Rangers, he skated for 4 years with the Sudbury Wolves of the OHL. In his last 2 years at Sudbury, he scored 49 and 34 points in 57 and 53 games respectively, showing that he did pack some offense in his game.  Marc Staal was an all-around solid defenseman who could score points, but was noted for his defensive play, not his offense.  That offense was curtailed in the NHL not only by John Tortorella but by the coach's game style as he suffered injuries in 2011-2012 & 2012-2013. 2013 not only brings a full NHL season, for the Rangers it also brings in new Head Coach Alain Vigneault, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks. Everyone started salivating over Del Zotto breaking out under the new head coach, but fantasy poolies started looking at Ryan McDonagh, and even Dan Girardi to an extent for some offense.  With Staal recovering from his eye injury, no wonder he was often overlooked.  Staal had come into camp ready to prove that he was healthy enough and ready for NHL action. He showed through camp that he was fit and ready to reclaim his normal workload and that his eye injury was behind him.  Vigneault noticed and has slotted Staal on the team's top power play unit and in his first game this season against the Phoenix Coyotes, played a total of 25:40 minutes which was tops on the club.  He also played 3:47 on the power play and rewarded the coach's faith with a power play goal; the teams only score in a 4-1 loss to the Coyotes. Marc Staal is back and if he is available in your league and you are in need of a 40-45 point defenseman, then pick up Staal and play him with confidence just as Coach Vigneault has done. You will be rewarded as well.