Smiles in Pittsburgh for "Smiley"
By Rob Picarello | NHL.com | June 21, 2003

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"All my life I have been playing hockey hoping for this to happen and I'm just glad the dream came true today." - Marc-Andre Fleury

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Pittsburgh Penguins' GM Craig Patrick wasn't the only one smiling in Nashville Saturday afternoon at the 2003 NHL Entry Draft after he traded up two slots to get 18-year old goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury.

Labeled "Smiley" by some of his former teammates because of his carefree personality, Fleury was grinning from ear-to-ear in the rafters of the Gaylord Entertainment Center when Patrick stepped up to the podium and announced his name as the first overall pick of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

"It's seems so unreal -- like it's not happening right now," Fleury said. "I think maybe it will hit me more later. All my life I have been playing hockey hoping for this to happen and I'm just glad the dream came true today."

Patrick woke up early Saturday morning to seal the deal with the Florida Panthers to get NHL Central Scouting's top-rated North American goalie by sending right wing Mikael Samuelsson, the third overall pick and a second-round selection to Florida for a third-round selection and the right to make the first selection in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.

"We had been discussing a lot of things over the last week, but this morning actually at 7:51, I got a call [from the Panthers] and we had three or four more calls after that and got it consummated," the Pens' general manager said.

Fleury got the attention of several NHL squads back in January when backstopped Canada to the silver medal at the World Junior Championships. The 6-foot-1, 172-pound netminder led the tournament with a 1.57 goals-against average and finished third with a .928 save percentage, earning himself best goalie honors at the highly competitive competition.

"He's far and away the best goaltender in the draft. We're rebuilding in our organization and we wanted a good goaltender," Patrick said.

Fleury being drafted first by the Penguins marked only the second time in modern-day Draft history that a goaltender was selected first overall. At the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, the New York Islanders used their first pick on Rick DiPietro, a highly touted goaltender out of Winthrop, Massachusetts. It also marked the first time Pittsburgh had the top overall selection since 1984, when the team chose current owner and player Mario Lemieux.

"I think that that's great to be the second one," Fleury said, "but I don't know him personally. But I know he's a great guy and also a great hockey player. I am really looking forward to meeting him. It would be fun just to have the chance to practice with him."

"He's one of the greatest in the game and I can't wait for the chance to try and stop him in practice. It's going to be exciting to get to my first training camp and I can't wait to be there. I will go there and do my best and try to stop the puck and do like I was doing. All I can do is hope for the best."

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"My goal is to stay in the NHL. That's always in my dreams and I will do my best to do it. I will also do my best not to disappoint the Penguins." - Marc-Andre Fleury

Fleury hails from Sorel, Quebec, and like so many other young kids from the province, he grew up idolizing one of the greatest goalies to ever strap on the pads in the NHL, Patrick Roy. The young goalie also liked watching New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, another goaltending product of the region.

"I always liked to watch Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur," Fleury said. "I think they have been good models for me."

According to Central Scouting, the future Penguin puck-stopper has strong skating ability with excellent flexibility, agility and lateral movement. He plays a solid butterfly style, remaining upright and square to the shooter and is quick to recover in scramble situations. He has exceptional net coverage at all times and possesses good foot speed and pad quickness. Fleury effectively controls his rebounds and likes to get involved in the play, setting up the puck behind the net or moving it to his defensemen. He has a quick glove hand and makes good use of the paddle-down technique in close and in wrap-around situations. He will aggressively challenge shooters and effectively hold his ground.

But most importantly, his scouting report says that he can consistently make big saves and that he thrives in high-pressure situations. He is also a very focused competitor who plays with a great deal of desire, determination and confidence, which are attributes any goaltender needs to make it on the NHL level.

"I have to work hard this summer to get ready and work more on getting better so I can be ready during training camp," Fleury said smiling his golden smile. "My goal is to stay in the NHL. That's always in my dreams and I will do my best to do it. I will also do my best not to disappoint the Penguins."

"He has got a great personality," Patrick said of his new sparkling prospect. "But we based our decisions on skill and we think he's a tremendous, tremendous goalie, very good quickness, very good style, I think he's going to be a great NHL goaltender."

The Draft is continuing right now, and at the time of writing are on Round 7 of 9.