Marc-Andre Fleury was the First Overall Draft Pick of 2003 would actually start in net for the Pittsburgh Penguins that year as an 18-year old, making him the youngest ever to start in between the pipes.  He would get better annually and would be the starting Goalie in the Pens Stanley Cup Championship in 2009.  While he was not a threat for the Vezina as a Penguin, he was a steady presence for Pittsburgh and a definite asset for Pittsburgh as they made their Championship runs.  He would help Pittsburgh win the 2016 Cup (though played sparingly due to post-concussion syndrome) and again in 2017, where he backstopped them to their fifth Championship.  

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.