List of Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a team in the National Hockey League (NHL).
History
[edit]Joe Daley became the first of 20 players selected by the Penguins in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft on June 6, 1967. The next day, the Penguins participated in their first amateur draft, where they selected Steve Rexe second overall.
The Penguins obtained the first-overall pick in 1984, and selected Mario Lemieux from the Laval Voisins of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Lemieux won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's best rookie in 1985. He went on to win six Art Ross trophies as the NHL's leading scorer, captained the team to Stanley Cup championships in 1991 and 1992, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997 following his first retirement. He later came back to play in another five seasons for the Penguins, and in 1999, became chairman and co-owner of the team. As owner, Lemieux negotiated an agreement to construct a new arena, the Consol Energy Center, ensuring the team's future in Pittsburgh. After the Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup victory, Lemieux became the first person to win a Stanley Cup as both a player and an owner.[1]
In 1990, the Penguins drafted Czechoslovakian Jaromír Jágr with the fifth overall pick. Following the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Jagr was the first Czechoslovak to attend the NHL Draft with the government's permission, becoming the first drafted without having to defect to the West.[2][3] Jagr was also the first European drafted in the first round by the Penguins after selecting only Canadians in their first 23 years. He was the first of four consecutive first round Europeans, and eight in ten years from 1990 to 1999. That draft was also notable in being the first time that less than half of Pittsburgh's picks were used on players born in Canada and the first time that a majority of their selections did not hail from Canada (6 players came from the United States, 4 from Canada).
Artem Kopot, an up-and-coming Russian defenseman with the Soviet under-18 team who had also played 28 games with his hometown Traktor Chelyabinsk in 1991–92, was the first Russian player to be drafted by the Penguins, selected in the sixth round, 139th overall, of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. Less than a month after being selected by the Penguins and five days before his 20th birthday, Kopot was involved in a fatal one-car accident in his hometown of Chelyabinsk. Kopot was the only person in the vehicle.[4]
Brooks Orpik was the first American drafted by the Penguins in the first round when he was selected in 2000 from Boston College. Along with Ryan Whitney in 2002 and Beau Bennett in 2010, the Penguins have only selected three Americans in the first round as of 2021.
The Penguins traded for the first overall pick for 2003, which they used to select goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury was the third goaltender selected first overall behind Michel Plasse and Rick DiPietro.[5] Pittsburgh's first-round selection, second overall, in 2004, Evgeni Malkin, was the Penguins' second Calder Trophy winner.[6] The Penguins earned another first overall selection in 2005 and selected Sidney Crosby in what was nicknamed the "Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes."[7]
1967 NHL Expansion Draft selections
[edit]
Pittsburgh's first players were selected from the Original Six Teams
NHL draft selections
[edit]
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For once, we control our own destiny. The impact that Lemieux is going to have on our franchise is something we need. It won't just be the Pittsburgh Penguins; it will be Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
—ED JOHNSTON, General Manager of the Penguins in 1984.[8]
This is huge for the franchise to be able to get a player of his caliber.
—MARIO LEMIEUX, Player and owner of the Penguins after the Penguins won the draft lottery to select Sidney Crosby in 2005
Note: Statistics listed include totals from all teams in the National Hockey League.
Note: Stats current to the conclusion of the 2023–24 season.
- ^ Briere died from injures sustained in a car crash shortly after the conclusion of the 1971 season
- ^ Schneider won a Gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- ^ Mathers attended Northeastern University but did not play in any games for the team. He was the first player from Pittsburgh drafted by the Penguins.
- ^ Johnson won a Gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- ^ Kopot was killed in a single-car crash shortly after being drafted
- ^ Robinson died due to a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed heart condition in 2007
- ^ Bathgate's namesake was his Hall of Fame grandfather, one of the original Penguins
- ¿ Played in the WHA.
Draftees by nationality
[edit]| Country | Selections | Percent | Last selection |
|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 383 | 81.8% | |
 Canada |
277 | 58.8% | Cooper Foster (2023) |
 United States |
108 | 23.1% | Luke Devlin (2022) |
| Europe | 83 | 17.7% | |
 Finland |
20 | 3.6% | Kalle Kangas (2023) |
 Russia |
1a | 3.6% | Mikhail Ilyin (2023) |
 Sweden |
15 | 3.2% | Calle Clang (2020) |
 Czech Republic |
14 | 3% | Dominik Simon (2015) |
| Czechoslovakia |
5 | 1.1% | Jan Alinc (1992) |
 Slovakia |
5 | 1.1% | Michal Sersen (2004) |
 Germany |
3 | 0.6% | Frederik Tiffels (2015) |
 Latvia |
2 | 0.4% | Raivis Ansons (2020) |
 Belarus |
1 | 0.2% | Konstantin Koltsov (1999) |
 Netherlands |
1 | 0.2% | Daniel Sprong (2015) |
 Slovenia |
1 | 0.2% | Jan Drozg (2017) |
 Switzerland |
1 | 0.2% | Patrick Bärtschi (2002) |
 Ukraine |
1 | 0.2% | Borys Protsenko (1996) |
| Asia | 2 | 0.4% | |
 South Korea |
2 | 0.4% | Richard Park (1994) |
Notes
[edit]- a The Penguins first-round pick in 1969 was traded to the Boston Bruins.
- b The Penguins first-round pick in 1971 was traded to the St. Louis Blues.
- c The Penguins first-round pick in 1972 was traded to the Minnesota North Stars.
- d The Penguins first-round pick in 1977 was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- e The Penguins first-round pick in 1978 was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers.
- f The Penguins first-round pick in 1979 was traded to the Washington Capitals.
- g The Penguins first-round pick in 1981 was traded to the Montreal Canadiens.
- h The Penguins obtained the 9th overall pick in 1984 from the Winnipeg Jets.
- i The Penguins obtained the 16th overall pick in 1984 from the Philadelphia Flyers.
- j The Penguins obtained the 1st overall pick in 2003 from the Florida Panthers.
- k The Penguins first-round pick in 2008 was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers.
- l The Penguins obtained the 8th overall pick in 2012 from the Carolina Hurricanes.
- m The Penguins first-round pick in 2013 was traded to the Calgary Flames.
- n The Penguins first-round pick in 2015 was traded to the Edmonton Oilers.
- o The Penguins first-round pick in 2016 was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
- p The Penguins first-round pick in 2017 was traded to the St. Louis Blues.
- q The Penguins first-round pick in 2018 was traded to the Ottawa Senators.
References
[edit]- Draft order
- 2009–2010 Pittsburgh Penguins Media Guide (PDF). Pittsburgh Penguins. pp. 286–292.
- "Pittsburgh Penguins Draft History". Internet Hockey Database. Archived from the original on January 13, 2009. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- Other
- ^ "Mario Lemieux". Front Office. Pittsburgh Penguins. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ Swift, E.M. (12 October 1992). "The Kid From Kladno". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ "Athlete profile: Jaromir Jagr". Sports Illustrated/CNN. 3 February 1998. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ Inquirer Staff (July 24, 1992). "Philly.com, Article Collections: Magic's Roberts Gets Offer Sheet From Mavs". Philly.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
- ^ "First Overall Selections". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 13 April 2001. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ "Calder Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 23 April 2006. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ "Year in Review: 2005". CBC. 20 December 2005. Retrieved 2 November 2009.
- ^ "Pittsburgh Penguins Draft Pick History". Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-06-24.
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