Staal received his first calls to Team Canada for the 2007 World Championships in Moscow. Along with younger brother Jordan, he won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland, scoring five goals, including the overtime winner in the quarter-finals over the Czech Republic. In the following year, Staal was back with Team Canada at the 2008 World Championships in Quebec City, winning a silver medal. He scored eight goals in the tournament, four of them in Canada's 10–1 defeat of Germany.