The 2012 NHL Draft was a milestone for the league, marking the fiftieth year that teams had gathered to select players from among the available talent. The rules have changed over the years, with tweaks to everything from age limits to the number of rounds to the rules for determining the draft order. But one thing hasn't changed: Everyone wants to be number one.
So while a half-century of NHL drafts has seen thousands of players picked, only fifty can claim to have been taken at the top of their class. Some of those picks went on to stardom, championships, and a place in the Hall of Fame. Others, to put it kindly, wound up being disappointments.
Here's a look back at some of the players who have had the honor of being the first overall pick in the NHL draft:
1993: Alexandre Daigle, Ottawa Senators
His often-criticized prediction that nobody would ever remember who was picked second in that year's draft turned out to be correct, given that many players who encountered Chris Pronger during his career reported not remembering anything at all afterwards.
1969: Réjean Houle, Montreal Canadiens
Scouts at the time would agree that the high-scoring winger had never seen a goaltender that he couldn't deke out, or beat on the glove side, or trade for a collection of spare parts even though he was a first-ballot hall-of-famer in his prime.
2008: Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
Before even being officially selected, he was being marketed with a series of billboards in Tampa Bay bearing the slogan “Seen Stamkos?” Those were eventually replaced by billboards from the league's goaltenders reading “No, actually we haven't. But does anyone know why that red light keeps going on?”
2002: Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
After being selected, Nash shook hands with the Blue Jackets' general manager, the head scout, and then a receiving line of eight other guys who all introduced themselves as “your future head coach for a season or two.”
1996: Chris Phillips, Ottawa Senators
Phillips would go on to become known to fans and teammates as Big Rig, which coincidentally was also the nickname of the 2005 Sidney Crosby draft lottery machine.
1991: Eric Lindros, Quebec Nordiques
The consensus top pick famously refused to put on a Nordiques sweater and insisted that he would never play for the franchise. Lindros faced withering criticism from fans and media but refused to become discouraged, in what marked the only known instance in his career of him keeping his head up.
2000: Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders
His frequently cited reputation for being injury plagued is grossly unfair, since the plague is occasionally treatable.
1971: Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens
Lafleur's selection marked the fourth time the Canadiens had held the first overall pick since 1963, so they were obviously struggling through a perfectly normal decade-long rebuild, figure Edmonton fans.
2006: Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues
He's a talented American defenseman who now plays for the Blue Jackets or maybe the Avalanche, according to the 90 percent of hockey fans who secretly don't know the difference between him and Jack Johnson.
1973: Denis Potvin, New York Islanders
The Hall of Fame defenseman went on to inspire Rangers fans to set a record for the all-time loudest “Potvin sucks” chant that would stand until 1996, when it was broken by Ron Hextall's orthodontist.
2004: Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
Advance scouting reports on the young Russian sniper were so overwhelmingly intimidating that the entire league decided to just take a year off rather than face him.
2007: Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
He is often compared to Eric Lindros in that they were both first overall picks who wore the number 88, although only one of them would find out what it's like to win the Stanley Cup in Philadelphia.
1984: Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins
Lemieux declined to put on a Penguins jersey immediately after being chosen, partly due to a contract dispute with Pittsburgh management, but mostly because it already had four Patrick Division defensemen hanging off of it.
1999: Patrick Stefan, Atlanta Thrashers
He is often referred to as the biggest draft bust of all time, but that's unfair because he was actually one of the more valuable players of the last decade, according to people who make hockey blooper videos on YouTube.
1983: Brian Lawton, Minnesota North Stars
Lawton was the first-ever American to be picked first overall, breaking down a barrier that would make it possible six years later for Mike Modano to become the first American to be picked first overall who is any good.
2011: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
He was considered a perfect fit for the Oilers' system based on his time with the WHL's Red Deer Rebels, because he never played with any NHL defenseman there either.
1985: Wendel Clark, Toronto Maple Leafs
Although their scouts had prepared a long list of players who could potentially help the club, the Leafs eventually settled on Clark after every other prospect in the draft was mysteriously forced to retire that afternoon due to severe knuckle-shaped facial injuries.