Malkin arrived in the NHL with a splash and has made plenty of waves.

Selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2004 NHL Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins, after Alex Ovechkin, Malkin did not make his NHL debut until Oct. 18, 2006, due to a shoulder injury sustained in training camp, but after scoring against Martin Brodeur in his first game. Malkin would set a modern-day record with goals in the first six games to start his career; the only other player to accomplish the feat was Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens in 1917-18, the League's inaugural season.

That was the first of many notable accomplishments in the NHL for Malkin, who in 2006 won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie following a 33-goal, 85-point season. Along the way Malkin has won two Stanley Cup championships with the Penguins, the Hart Trophy as League MVP, two Art Ross Trophies as the league's leading scorer, the Ted Lindsay Award as the top player in the league as selected by the players and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

Internationally playing for Russia, Malkin has won three gold medals, four silver medals and three bronze medals between the World Under-18 championships, World Junior Championship and the World Championship.

Malkin has been one of the top playmakers in the world, eluding defenders with finesse and power moves to create scoring chances. Three times Malkin has eclipsed the 100-point plateau (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2011-12), scoring a career high 113 points in 2008-09. He set a career high with 50 goals in 2011-12.

He has produced in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, too; he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2009 with a 14-goal, 36-point postseason performance in leading Pittsburgh to the title. He had 18 points in the 2016 playoffs as the Penguins again won the Stanley Cup.