Being a No. 1 overall pick in the NHL comes with a lot of pressure. The team picking at No. 1 overall is looking for a game-changing player and the pressure to perform at a high level afterwards is incredibly intense for the player in question.
More often than not, players taken No. 1 overall in the NHL become the star players worthy of their draft status. With the generational talent on display each year at the draft, it makes sense the No. 1 overall pick is worthy of remembrance — with some few exceptions.
With the NHL Draft on the horizon, let’s look back at every No. 1 overall pick since 2000.
2000: G Rick DiPietro, New York Islanders
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2001: F Ilya Kovalchuk, Atlanta Thrashers
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2002: F Rick Nash, Columbus Blue Jackets
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2003: G Marc-Andre Fleury, Pittsburgh Penguins
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2004: F Alexander Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
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2005: F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
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2006: D Erik Johnson, St. Louis Blues
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2007: F Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
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2008: F Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightining
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2009: F John Tavares, New York Islanders
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2010: F Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
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2011: F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
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2012: F Nail Yakupov, Edmonton Oilers
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2013: F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
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2014: D Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers
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2015: F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
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2016: F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
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2017: F Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils
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2018: D Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres
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2019: F Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
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2020: F Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers
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2021: D Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres
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2022: F Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens
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2023: F Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks
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2024: F Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks
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