Penguins have destiny on their side in NHL Draft pursuit of Gavin McKenna | Sporting News

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.

MORE: Jack Eichel bases the Sabres with unnecessary stray 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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