Top No. 1 NHL Draft picks of all-time, according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen

Welcome to the National Hockey List. Each week, NHL.com senior writer Dan Rosen will provide a list dealing with important topics around the NHL. Today he lists, in order, his top 10 No. 1 draft picks of all-time.

Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut on Tuesday, starting a career he and the Toronto Maple Leafs hope leads to great things. He had one shot on goal in 15:19 of ice time in a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

McKenna became the 64th No. 1 pick in NHL history since the draft came into existence in 1963. Some of the top picks have soared, with 10 of them currently in the Hockey Hall of Fame and several who are still playing will most certainly make it, but are not yet eligible.

But of those 64, who are the all-time best? Here is my list of the top 10 No. 1 NHL Draft picks of all-time.

1. Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins, 1984

He is known as "Super Mario" for a reason, and his legendary status and impact in the NHL, notably in Pittsburgh, is the reason why Lemieux is No. 1 on this list.

Lemieux finished his injury- and illness-shortened playing career with 1,723 points (690 goals, 1,033 assists) in 915 games, an average of 1.88 points per game that is second all-time behind only Wayne Gretzky's 1.92. He is ninth all-time in points, 11th in goals and 13th in assists.

He had at least 100 points in 10 of his 17 NHL seasons, second most behind Gretzky's 15. Lemieux, though, played in 59 or more games in only 11 seasons.

Lemieux also had 172 points (76 goals, 96 assists) in 107 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

He retired after the 1996-97 season with 1,494 points (613 goals, 881 assists) in 745 games, averaging 2.01 points per game, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1997. He took over as Penguins owner, helped to keep the franchise in Pittsburgh, and then came back to play in 2000.

Lemieux won the Stanley Cup (1991, 1992) and Conn Smythe Trophy twice, the Hart Trophy three times (1988, 1993, 1996), the Ted Lindsay Award four times (1986, 1988, 1993, 1996), the Art Ross Trophy six times (1988, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997), the Calder Trophy (1985) and the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (1993).

He retired for the second and final time following the 2005-06 season.

2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, 2005

Crosby is a close second to his former teammate, landlord and boss. The reason Lemieux is first and Crosby second is because of the unique impact Lemieux had as a player in the 1980s and 1990s, and then as an owner/player who helped keep the franchise in Pittsburgh.

Crosby, though, also can be seen as a savior, because he arrived in Pittsburgh at a time when the Penguins needed a new face of the franchise to carry them into the new era of the NHL.

He began his 22nd NHL season with the Penguins on Wednesday, when they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 at Xfinity Mobile Arena. In his time in Pittsburgh, the Penguins have won the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017) and have reached the playoffs 17 times.

Crosby became Pittsburgh's all-time leading scorer last season, when he passed Lemieux. He has 1,762 points (654 goals, 1,108 assists) in 1,421 games, and since entering the NHL in 2005, and he leads all players with 206 points (72 goals, 134 assists) in the playoffs (186 games).

His hardware includes winning the Conn Smythe Trophy (2016, 2017), the Hart Trophy (2007, 2014), the Rocket Richard Trophy (2010, 2017) and the Art Ross Trophy (2007, 2014) twice each. He won the Ted Lindsay Award three times (2007, 2013, 2014).

Crosby had 74 points last season and 91 in 2024-25. He needs 89 to pass Gordie Howe and move into fourth place all-time. He is currently seventh, nine behind Marcel Dionne and 36 behind Ron Francis.

He is 125 points behind Mark Messier for third place and 159 behind Jaromir Jagr for second.

3. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, 2004

The championships and total points are enough to lift Crosby ahead of Ovechkin on this list, but there is no argument anymore about the greatest goal-scorer in NHL history.

Ovechkin is the League's all-time leader with 929 goals in 1,573 games. He also has 77 goals in 161 playoff games. His 1,006 goals combined between the regular season and the playoffs are 10 behind Gretzky for most all time.

In addition, Ovechkin has 758 assists for 1,687 points, which is 10th all time. He is 36 points behind Lemieux for ninth place and 68 behind Steve Yzerman for eighth. Crosby is 74 points ahead of him.

Ovechkin has nine 50-goal seasons, tied with Gretzky and Mike Bossy for the NHL record. He has four 100-point seasons. He won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy with the Capitals in 2018.

He is a nine-time winner of the Rocket Richard Trophy (2008-09, 2013-16, 2018-20). He has won the Hart Trophy (2008, 2009, 2013) and Ted Lindsay Award (2008-10) three times each. He also has won the Art Ross Trophy (2008) and Calder Trophy (2006).

He's 41 years old and beginning his 22nd NHL season all with the Capitals, who open against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center on Friday (7 p.m. ET; HHN, CARNHL, MNMT, SN, TVAS).

4. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, 2015

McDavid is 29 years old. Maybe if we do this list again in 10 years he'd be at the top. But he can't be there now, not without a Stanley Cup championship.

He came close twice, losing to the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and 2025. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy despite not winning the Stanley Cup in 2024. He has 156 points (45 goals, 111 assists) in 102 playoff games. But he needs the Cup.

McDavid, though, has done everything else to fulfill the potential for greatness that he had coming into the League 11 years ago.

He already is in the top 50 all-time in points, ranking 47th with 1,222 (409 goals, 813 assists) in 795 games. McDavid is third all-time in points per game (1.54; minimum 100 games), behind Gretzky and Lemieux.

The Oilers captain has won the Hart Trophy three times (2017, 2021, 2023), the Ted Lindsay Award five times (2017-18, 2021, 2023, 2026) and the Art Ross Trophy six times (2017-18, 2021-23, 2026). He has nine 100-point seasons, which is third most in NHL history behind Gretzky's 15 and Lemieux's 10. McDavid also won the Rocket Richard Trophy in 2022-23.

5. Denis Potvin, New York Islanders, 1973

Potvin easily is the best of the 16 defensemen who have been selected No. 1 in the NHL draft.

He got to the Islanders in 1973-74, when he won the Calder Trophy as the League's best rookie. He went on to win the Norris Trophy three times (1976, 1978, 1979) before winning the Stanley Cup four straight times from 1980-83.

He retired in 1988, having played his entire 15-season NHL career with the Islanders, as the League's all-time leader among defenseman in regular-season goals (310), assists (742) and points (1,052), and postseason goals (56), assists (109), points (165) and games played (185).

Thirty-eight years since he left the ice, Potvin is seventh in points, 10th in assists and fifth in goals among defenseman in the regular season. He is second in goals, eighth in assists, fourth in points and 12th in games played among defensemen in the postseason.

Potvin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

6. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks, 2007

Kane, on June 22, 2007 in Columbus, became the first United States-born forward to be selected with the No. 1 pick since Mike Modano went to the Minnesota North Stars in 1988.

Nearly 19 years later, on Jan. 29 of this year, Kane had an assist to reach 1,375 points, passing Modano to become the all-time leading scorer among U.S.-born players in NHL history.

He's returned to Chicago, where he became a legend playing from 2007-23, and still is building on his U.S. NHL record. Kane has 1,401 points (509 goals, 892 assists) in 1,370 games after scoring for the Blackhawks in a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday.

He and Jonathan Toews were the faces of the Blackhawks' resurgence in the 2000s that culminated in three Stanley Cup championships (2010, 2013, 2015), starting with Kane's Cup-clinching overtime goal in Game 6 in Philadelphia on June 9, 2010.

Kane then won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2013, when he had 19 points (nine goals, 10 assists) in 23 playoff games. He has 138 points (53 goals, 85 assists) in 143 career postseason games.

He swept the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Art Ross Trophy in 2015-16, when he had 106 points (46 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games. He also won the Calder Trophy in 2007-08.

7. Guy Lafleur, Montreal Canadiens, 1971

Potvin got the edge on Lafleur on this list because of where he still ranks among the game's all-time defenseman nearly 40 years since his retirement. Kane landed ahead of him because of his impact on the growth of hockey in the United States, plus his three Stanley Cup championships.

But there are arguments to be heard for Lafleur to be higher than both considering what he meant to the Canadiens in the 1970s.

Lafleur helped the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup five times, including four in a row from 1976-79. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1977 and the Hart Trophy in 1976-77 and 1977-78. He had more than 100 points in six straight seasons from 1974-80.

He is the Canadiens' all-time leader in the regular season with 1,246 points (518 goals, 728 assists) in 961 games. Lafleur retired in 1985, but returned to play one season with the New York Rangers (1988-89) and two with the Quebec Nordiques (1989-91), finishing with 1,353 points (560 goals, 793 assists) in 1,126 games played.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988.

8. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, 2013

There will be some who argue MacKinnon should be ahead of McDavid because one has won the Stanley Cup and one has not. But there's a counter to that: the Avalanche maybe should have won it more than once and have not gotten back to the Stanley Cup Final since beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2022. McDavid has gotten the Oilers to the Final twice since.

But let's be clear about one thing: MacKinnon belongs on this list, and if he continues at his current pace he may finish higher than McDavid, let alone Potvin, Kane and Lafleur.

Lemieux, Crosby and Ovechkin will be hard to catch.

MacKinnon has 1,144 points (422 goals, 722 assists) in 951 regular-season games after scoring twice in Colorado's season-opening 8-4 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena on Wednesday.

He has had four consecutive 100-point seasons, giving him 496 points since 2022-23, which is third in the League behind McDavid (525) and Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (508).

9. Mike Modano, Minnesota North Stars, 1988

Modano finished his career in 2011 as the League's all-time leader in points among U.S.-born players with 1,374 in 1,499 games. He is the leader in goals among U.S.-born players with 561.

Modano won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999, when he had 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 23 postseason games. He helped Dallas get back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2000, when they lost to the New Jersey Devils.

He finished with a U.S.-born NHL postseason-record 146 points (58 goals, 88 assists) in 176 games.

Modano also was at the forefront of the surge in hockey in the United States coming out of the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. He helped the U.S. win gold at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and was part of the Olympic team in 2002 that got the silver medal.

His longevity, consistency, impact on hockey in Dallas and the U.S. at large, and the fact that he's a Stanley Cup champion are among the main reasons why he is on this list ahead of the likes of fellow Hall of Famers Gilbert Perreault (1970), Dale Hawerchuk (1981), Mats Sundin (1989), Eric Lindros (1991) and Joe Thornton (1997).

Modano was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.

10. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, 2024

This is a projection pick and it comes at the expense of Steven Stamkos (2008) as well as Perreault, Hawerchuk, Sundin, Lindros and Thornton.

All of them can and probably should at this point be ahead of Celebrini on this list. They all boast consistency and longevity. Celebrini has played two NHL seasons.

But Celebrini had 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games as a 19-year-old last season. The Sharks, with him as the driving force, improved by 19 wins and 34 points from 2024-25, when Celebrini had 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games as an 18-year-old.

He has 178 points (70 goals, 108 assists) in 152 games across two NHL seasons. He was an impact player for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics. He turned 20 in June.

With immense respect to the legends who he is ahead of, there still is so much more to come for Celebrini, which is why he's on this list of the best No. 1 picks of all-time.