Jan Hrdina was chosen in the 5^th Round in 1995 by the Pittsburgh Penguins.  After playing in Junior for another year and the minors for two, he was ready to debut in the NHL in 1998.

Petr Nedved arrived in Pittsburgh with a lot of baggage.  The former second overall pick was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks, whose fans appreciated his skill, but not his soft play.  A contract dispute led to him being dealt to St. Louis, where he played for part of a season, before he went to the New York Rangers, where he failed to live up to expectations.  Still, there was so much talent in the Czech Center that the Penguins traded for him before the 1995-96 season.

As a player, Rick Tocchet is most closely associated with the other Pennsylvania hockey team, the Philadelphia Flyers, and he should consider that he spent four times longer there than he did with the Penguins.