Only twice in their history have the Pittsburgh Penguins “earned” the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft by virtue of a league-worst record.
Both times, that worked out pretty well (that’s not to mention when they traded into the top spot to draft Marc-Andre Fleury).
In 1984, the Penguins had the No. 1 pick and chose Mario Lemieux.
In 2005, 21 years later, the Penguins had the No. 1 pick and took Sidney Crosby.
And heading into a draft 21 years after Crosby, Pittsburgh would be quite fortunate to get the No. 1 spot in the 2026 NHL Draft.
That’s because Gavin McKenna will be there for the taking.
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The superstar Canadian prospect has been the presumed top pick in his draft class for more than a year.
He recently took the unprecedented step of committing to a year of college hockey at Penn State. It’s legitimately been compared to what it would’ve been like if Crosby decided to do that for a year.
PSU shouldn’t hinder McKenna’s development in any way. He’s still a shooting star.
And if the Penguins somehow have this kind of luck held down, then maybe they’ll just end up with McKenna.
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