In those days, Gilles Meloche was the team’s amateur scout in Quebec. He also served as part-time goalie coach, which later became his full-time position. He had played almost 800 NHL games as a goaltender, so any high-end prospect at that position in the draft was on his radar.
Fleury was 16 years old the first time Meloche saw him play for the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Meloche arrived at the game early, saying that warmups told him a lot.
“I sat behind the net and I watched that kid. The things he did then, so acrobatic, he was putting on a show. He was just unbelievable, even at that age,” Meloche said.
Going into the 2002-03 season, Fleury’s draft year, Meloche took Patrick aside.
“We were rebuilding, we were starting to have good players, and I said, we need a goalie. Craig said, make sure you follow him all year,” Meloche said. “So, I went to Cape Breton a couple times. Then every time he was coming to Quebec, I'd go to all his games.”
The more Meloche saw, the stronger he felt that Fleury was special. As Meloche put it, they broke the mold after Fleury.
“Just the way he played, there was nobody like him,” Meloche said. “The closest thing I saw before him, when I really started scouting, was Felix ‘The Cat’ Potvin. He was in the same style. Marc was even quicker. Not that structured, but that could be taught. I had no doubt he was going to succeed. Just his attitude, his body language. So, sometimes you strike out, but I didn't think so with him.”
That’s why Meloche also told Malone that there was a goalie named Fleury whom the top staff members needed to see. When Malone made the trek to Cape Breton, those lightning-fast reflexes stuck out to him as well. So did the personality Fleury has become beloved for. The due diligence reports on his character came back with glowing results.
“We had him out for dinner (before the draft), and he just seemed to be so positive and so bubbly, so full of energy, which he was,” Malone said. “It was just that kind of thing where, wow, this guy, his smile, his personality just jumped out at ya... which people in Pittsburgh know all about.”
So, everything added up to the Penguins scouting staff being high on Fleury.
“We felt that Marc-Andre could be a franchise difference maker at some point down the road,” Olczyk said.
But some staff members also felt that way about Eric Staal, who was projected to be a No. 1 center. The group was divided over which player to take. However, a few key individuals made the case for Fleury, including two iconic figures from the Miracle on Ice.
Patrick had been the assistant coach under Herb Brooks for Team USA at the 1980 Winter Olympics, where they were part of one of the greatest sporting events of all time. Patrick later brought Brooks to Pittsburgh as a scout in 1996. Going into that 2003 draft, Brooks - who had a brief stint as Penguins head coach in 1999-00 - was serving as director of player personnel.
“Herb and I convinced everybody, you can’t win a Cup without a goalie. We’ll find another Eric Staal some place,” Patrick said.
Malone agreed with two of the game's greatest hockey minds. He pointed out that every year, there’s a handful of quality forwards. Pittsburgh had some decent prospects coming in at that position, along with Brooks Orpik and Ryan Whitney on the blue line. But they didn’t have anything between the pipes. So, the decision was made.
“Craig did a masterful job of moving up and not allowing anybody else to jump up in front of us,” Olczyk said.
Meanwhile, the night before the first round, Fleury was at a steakhouse. He sat at a table with his childhood sweetheart Veronique, dad Andre, mom France, sister Marylene, his billet family from Cape Breton, and Walsh.
At that point, Pittsburgh still had the third overall pick, with Carolina drafting second and Florida drafting first. The Panthers already had Roberto Luongo, now a Hall of Famer, in net.
“At the time, Marc is thinking that he's going to go somewhere in the top five or six. If Florida keeps the pick and drafts one, it's unlikely they're drafting Marc. So, Marc asked me that night if I will have a heads up before he's drafted,” Walsh said.
“I said, maybe. Some teams will reach out and let me know, and there are rumors that Florida might be shopping or trading the pick. So, I said, if I know, do you want to know?”
Fleury broke into his trademark grin.
“He goes, oh, geez, no, yes, maybe, oh... yes. He can't really say for sure that he wants to know,” Walsh recalled with a laugh.
The next morning, Walsh got the news that Patrick had worked out a deal with Florida GM Rick Dudley to swap positions. He then got a phone call from Patrick himself.
“Craig said, just wanted to let you know, please keep it quiet, don't say anything to any media – but we made this trade to get Marc,” Walsh said.
At that point, it was around 8:30-9 AM. And what Walsh remembers most about that day, more than anything else, is that it was sweltering hot. But Fleury still wanted to walk the few blocks from their hotel to Bridgestone Arena.
They met in the lobby to head out, where Walsh informed Marc-Andre and his parents that a trade had been made.
“Then I said, do you want to know what I know?” Walsh recounted. “And Marc goes, yeah. I said, okay, Pittsburgh called – you're going number one overall. It was like, time froze. If you're writing a screenplay, there’s beat... beat... beat... Life froze, his life. It was 10 seconds of him processing it all, and then he said again, ‘oh, geez’ [laughs].”
It was a lot to take in, but they had to go. So, Fleury and Walsh started making their way to the rink.
“We start dripping in sweat, right? Because it’s like an inferno. We're walking, and he’s being stopped to sign autographs, and I remember thinking, how is it we're on the streets of Nashville, and he's recognized, and people want his autograph? It's crazy,” Walsh said. “Now, we're like a block away, and I'm like, holy sh*t, if we don't move, we’re going to miss it! We gotta get there!”
They made it in time, with Walsh joking it looked like they stepped out of a shower. People ran and got them paper towels, and Fleury was trying to fix his hair. Thankfully, the air conditioning was blowing right on them, so they quickly cooled off and settled in. Soon, Patrick took the stage and said these franchise-altering words:
“On behalf of Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins, with our first pick this year, we’d like to select goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.”
Walsh remembers telling Fleury not to rush up to join them. He said Fleury should take the time to hug his loved ones who had traveled there to be with him.
“Enjoy the moment with them, and that's what he did,” Walsh said. “I remember after Marc had greeted everybody and finally made his way towards the stage, his dad had tears in his eyes.”
Walsh was born and raised in Montreal, and is the same age as Lemieux – who, at the time, was the only other first overall pick in Penguins history. Walsh was at the Montreal Forum in 1984, when Ed Johnston announced the selection of No. 66. Nearly two decades later, Johnston – then a Penguins assistant GM – was there for No. 29.
“The guy who picked up Mario, who announced that pick, was standing next to Marc on stage,” Walsh said. "There was a real Quebec connection that existed between Mario and Flower at that time."
