The Pittsburgh Penguins chose Evgeni Malkin with the second overall pick in 2004, but due to a transfer dispute between the NHL and the IIHF, Malkin could not report until the 2006/07 season.  The Russian star was worth the wait!

Placing Jaromir Jagr only at number three seems so strange considering all that he accomplished there, but don’t think of this as a slight on Jagr. We ask you to view it as a testament to what Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby accomplished over their careers, and Jagr was only with Pittsburgh for roughly half of his career.  But what a half it was!

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the lottery to draft Sidney Crosby, who lived up to all of the enormous expectations that were placed upon him, and it took him no time to do it.  As a rookie, Crosby scored 102 Points and missed out on the Calder to Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals, a rivalry that still exists to this day.  Crosby would have no sophomore jinx with a 120 Point campaign, a Hart Trophy, A Ted Lindsay Award, an Art Ross Trophy, and, more importantly, q Stanley Cup RIng.

The city of Pittsburgh should erect as many statues as possible of Mario Lemieux.  If it wasn’t for him, there is a good chance that Pittsburgh Penguins would not exist today.  The Penguins did not draw well, and they were more often than not on the losing end, but everything changed when "Super Mario" was drafted first overall in the 1984 Draft.