A fierce competitor, Roy plays the ultimate butterfly style. NHL's all-time winningest goalie. Baiting shooters with a hole between his pads, he shuts them just in time to stop the puck. He stays in the net, plays angles well and doesn't give up many rebounds. Holds NHL record for most 30-plus win seasons. Holds NHL career playoff records for most games played by a goaltender and most wins. Won the Stanley Cup four times, twice with Montreal and twice with Colorado. Led NHL in save percentage in four seasons. Won Conn Smythe Trophy (1986, 1993 and 2001). Won Vezina Trophy three times. Played in eight NHL All-Star games. Won William M. Jennings Trophy (1991-92).

Hasek's career began in 1981 in Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, where he was born in 1965. It was a place where the idea of playing in the NHL seemed an unattainable fantasy. At the age of 16, Dominik made the move to the top level of Czech hockey, playing for his home team in the Czech league's First Division. At the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, the 18-year-old Hasek was drafted 207th overall by Chicago. Part of the reason he was selected so late was that Czechoslovakia was still a Communist country, and NHL teams had little hope of luring players from behind the Iron Curtain. Hasek did not even find out he had been drafted for several months and, when he did, the news did not thrill him as it would have done to thousands of young North American players. Some of his awards include. WJC-A All-Star Team (1983). Named Best Goaltender at WJC-A (1983).Czechoslovakian Goaltender of the Year (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990).Czechoslovakian Player of the Year (1987, 1989, 1990) .WEC-A All-Star Team (1987, 1989, 1990) .Named Best Goaltender at WEC-A (1987, 1989.Czechoslovakian First All-Star Team (1988, 1989, 1990) .IHL First All-Star Team (1991) .NHL All-Rookie Team (1992).NHL First All-Star Team (1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001).

Joseph is nicknamed "Cujo" and has worn the number 31 for the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Phoenix Coyotes. A three time NHL All-Star (1993-94, 1998-99, 1999-00), he was awarded the 1999-00 King Clancy Memorial Trophy for exemplifying leadership qualities on and off the ice and making noteworthy humanitarian contributions to his community. Joseph was born to unwed teenage parents. Five days after his birth, his mother, Wendy Munro, gave him up for adoption to Jeanne Joseph, a nurse who had befriended her during her hospital stay. Jeanne and her husband decided to name the baby Curtis after his father, Curtis Nickle. Curtis grew up with an older brother Grant and a stepbrother Victor. The family was of mixed race with Jeanne and Victor being black and Curtis and Grant, white. It wasn't until he signed with the Blues that Joseph legally changed his name from Curtis Shayne Munro to Curtis Shayne Joseph.

Born of biracial parents, Fuhr was adopted as a baby and raised in Spruce Grove, Alberta. At the age of seventeen, in 1979, Fuhr joined the Victoria Cougars of the WHL. After two stellar seasons in Victoria, Fuhr was drafted 8th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL entry draft. (He had also been drafted by the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball as a catcher.) He played for the Oilers for ten seasons, winning five Stanley Cups. In 1987, he won 40 games and made the All-Star game. In 1988, Fuhr won his only Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. He battled substance abuse problems at the tail end of his career with Edmonton, and was suspended by the NHL.

As one half of perhaps the most colorful brother act in NHL history, Tony "0" revolutionized goaltending in the NHL with his legs-open "butterfly" style and his spectacular flop-on-the-ice saves during the 16 years he spent in the league, all except one with the Chicago Black Hawks. As the younger brother of scoring star Phil, Tony had something to prove when he entered the league in 1968. After a collegiate career with the Michigan Tech Huskies and the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League, he spent time with Houston of the Central Hockey League. His first partial year with Montreal was unspectacular - the Canadiens had Gump Worsley and Rogie Vachon ahead of him - but after being traded to Chicago, he was impressive in his first full season, recording a Calder and Vezina Trophy-winning year in 1969-70 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a modern-era record of 15 shutouts

Tom Barrasso entered the NHL for the 1983-84 season as an 18 year old, going straight from high school to the Buffalo Sabres. Observers around the league thought the native of Stowe, Massachusetts, would be a good professional goaltender. After all, he'd played well for the U.S. Olympic team and received some excellent coaching under Team USA's Eddie Johnson. But few people expected the impact the young goalie would have right out of the starting blocks as a teenager. In his rookie season, Barrasso won the Vezina Trophy as the leagues best netminder and the Calder Trophy as the top rookie. In Buffalo, he was the high-profile half of an amazing goaltending team with Bob Sauve, and the two shared the award for the NHL's best goals-against average in Barrasso's second year. By 1984, some experts called Barrasso the best goalie in the world. At the Canada Cup that year, Team USA general manager and former NHLer Lou Nanne was one of them. Barrasso strapped on his first pair of goalie pads as a four-year-old. By the time he was in high school, he'd been recruited by just about every college in the U.S. He picked Providence College in Rhode Island as the place he wanted to play his collegiate hockey but went straight to the NHL instead after playing in the 1984 Canada Cup with Team USA.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the Montreal Canadiens had no room for under performers on their team. On the famous club's roster, there were enough talented and highly experienced players to put together several teams. Like all top teams, the old guard gradually retired and the team had to be reinforced with young players. But rookies spent as much time in the press box as on the ice. When in the spring of 1971 Dryden was called up from a farm club, he thought of it as a reward. If you showed good results on a farm team, you would get to suit up for more pro matches. Dryden appeared in six games and surprised everybody by putting on a superb performance, but also by helping the team to win six straight games. But nobody expected to see the young goaltender in the playoff series.

After starring in the Calgary minor hockey system, Vernon moved on to the local Wranglers of the junior Western Hockey League. He appeared in over 100 games in his first two seasons and attracted the attention of pro scouts across North America. Following a strong rookie season in junior, the Calgary Flames chose Vernon in the second round, 56th overall, at the 1981 NHL entry draft. The Flames left the young goalie in junior in 1981-82 where he earned selection to the WHL first all-star team then brought him up to play one playoff game for the Oklahoma City Stars of the Central Hockey League. In 1982-83 Vernon made two appearances for the Flames but was sent back to junior. During the 1983-84 season Vernon was elevated to the Colorado Flames of the Central Hockey League for seasoning. The rookie pro won 30 games and led the league with a 3.35 goals against mark to earn selection to the CHL second all-star team. Vernon remained in the minors when Calgary switched its farm team to Moncton of the American Hockey League prior to the 1984-85 season.

Sidney Crosby is known as one of the most anticipated new players to lace up a pair of skates in years, he is believed by many to have innate talent comparable to that of Legendary Wayne Gretzky (also known as "The Great One") and other NHL super stars, an assessment that has led to the nickname, "The Next One".
Crosby was drafted first overall in the QMJHL Draft on June 7, 2003 by the Rimouski Océanic and he quickly went on to win the QMJHL scoring title while setting new records for 16-year-olds during his rookie season. He achieved 54 goals and 81 assists during his first season with Rimouski. On July 22, 2005 the NHL, upon ratification of its new collective bargaining agreement, held its first ever league wide draft lottery, that was won by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins then selected Sidney Crosby as tier first selection and the first overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. It gave Crosby the opportunity to play along side the man to whom he has drawn several comparisons, Mario Lemieux. He played his first professional NHL game on October 5, 2005, against the New Jersey Devils, and registered an assist on a goal scored by Mark Recchi. He continued his success in his next two NHL games, registering an assist against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 7, 2005, and then scoring his first career NHL goal and adding two assists against the Boston Bruins the next night. Crosby's first NHL goal came against goaltender Hannu Toivonen and was assisted by line mates Mark Recchi and Zigmund Palffy.

The six foot three inch, 186 pound center was drafted 2nd overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the second pick in the draft behind Alexander Ovechkin. Malkin has chosen to remain in Russia for the 2005-06 hockey season with Metallurg Magnitogorsk to hone his skills before signing for the Penguins for the 2006-07 NHL season. Potential frontrunner for Calder Trophy in 2006-2007. He has not yet signed with the Penguins for the 06-07 season. Evgeni Malkin is a product of the Metallurg Magnitogorsk hockey school. He has consistently been the top scorer on Russia’s ‘06 national team. He made his debut on the U18 squad during last season’s 2003 U18 World Junior Championships, where he skated on the top line with Alexander Ovechkin. He made his Russian Superleague debut during the 2003-04 season, working his way up from the fourth line. Malkin has been compared to players such as legendary Montreal Canadien Jean Beliveau, and is currently thought to be the best hockey player outside of the NHL. Malkin is a very smooth skater with great passing ability and many experts agree that in a draft without an Ovechkin- or Crosby-like prospect he could and would be a first overall.

Daniel Brière October 6, 1977 in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada is a French Canadian professional hockey centre who currently plays for the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. Brière went to Collège-Saint-Alexandre, a private college in Gatineau. Brière was drafted by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft in the first round, twenty-fourth overall. In 1998, Brière won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie of the American Hockey League while playing for the Springfield Falcons. Brière's training regimen became newsworthy in 2001 when it became known that, in order to overcome his diminutive size, he had begun off-season strength training with Canadian World's Strongest Man competitor Hugo Girard, who shares Gatineau as a hometown.

Zdeno is the tallest player in NHL history. He made his NHL debut at Joe Louis Arena on Nov. 19, 1997. Recorded a career-high 15 penalty minutes Apr. 4 vs. NY Rangers. Recorded his first NHL point with an assist at NY Rangers on Apr. 15. Started the season in Kentucky (AHL) and was recalled three times during the course of the season, the last time on Mar. 9 for the remainder of the season. Represented the World Team at the AHL All-Star Game. Career Juniors 1996-97 was Zdeno's first season playing in North America. He ended up second in penalty minutes with Prince George (WHL). Suffered a broken left wrist Jan.11 at Portland and missed the next 23 games. When he returned to the lineup in late February. He then went on to finish first among defensemen and fourth overall on the Cougars in playoff scoring.

Wayne "The Great One" Gretzky was born on January 26, 1961 in the town of Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He learned to play hockey in a backyard rink with his father Walter Gretzky and got his values thanks to his mother Phyllis Gretzky. Even at the young age of eleven, Wayne Gretzky raised many eyebrows on the ice by collecting 517 points in a season. As a seventeen year old in 1978, he led team Canada to a bronze medal in the World Junior championship, topping the tournament with 17 points in six games. Wayne Gretzky began his professional career with the Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1978. He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 1978-79 and began his National Hockey League (NHL) career when the Edmonton Oilers moved from the WHA to the National Hockey League in the 1979-80 season. Gretzky scintilated fans in his first year, scoring 137 points but missed the Art Ross Trophy as Marcel Dionne had one more goal. But the eighteen year old was awarded the Hart Memorial trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL.

Mario "The Magnificent" Lemieux was born on September 5, 1965, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. From an early age, Mario dominated the game of hockey at every level he played. Mario played for Canada in the 1983 World Junior Championships and recorded 10 points on the bronze medal winning team. In his final year in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), Lemieux scored a record 133 goals and added 149 assists for 282 points in 70 games for the Laval Titan. He was named Canadian Junior Hockey Player of the year and was selected first overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1984 NHL entry draft. On his first NHL shift against the Boston Bruins, Lemieux would steal the puck from Bruin great Ray Bourque and score his first NHL goal on Pete Peeters. Mario went on to chalk up 100 points in his rookie campaign and was awarded the Calder Trophy as best first year player. Lemieux recorded 100+ point season the next couple of seasons and emerged as a dominating NHL player..

Mark Messier's nickname, "the Moose," is a tribute to his size, strength and determination. A player renowned for his leadership abilities and one of the all-time leading NHL scorers, Messier emerged from the great Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s to become a hockey superstar. He was a powerful skater who combined playmaking skill and a goal-scoring touch with the toughness necessary to survive and thrive in the corners. Six times his teams sipped from the Stanley Cup and on two occasions Messier took home the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. Like Gordie Howe, Messier is credited with being the most complete player of his generation. He was a power forward, a two-way left winger and sometime center with talent and overwhelming power and size and an unpredictable mean streak. Messier acquired his multidimensional game during a childhood filled with hockey in his home town of Edmonton. At age four, he was attending his father's minor-league practices. At age 11, he was a stick boy for the Spruce Grove Mets in the Alberta junior leagues, the team he would star on just five years later.

As the son of the "Golden Jet" Bobby Hull, the younger Brett came into the game with the disadvantage of having the pressure that a famous name can bring, pressure that he has shrugged off easily. After his 1,000th point, Brett and Bobby became the only father and son combo in NHL history to each score 1,000 points. But this was not the first time the younger Hull hit a scoring milestone. As a St. Louis Blues player nine years earlier, he scored 50 goals in 49 games. He became just the fifth player in NHL history to do the 50/50, tying as third fastest ever. This achievement put Hull in an elite group of superstar players alongside Wayne Gretzky, Maurice Richard, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

Gordie Howe is referred to as simply "Mr. Hockey". World War II had just ended when he first entered the National Hockey League, and when he played his final NHL season 33 years later, Wayne Gretzky was playing his first. Over those five decades, Howe didn't just survive, he was dominant - on the scoring lists, in battles in the corners, on game-winning goals and when the year-end awards were handed out. He was a big man, though by modern standards no behemoth, but what set him apart was his incredible strength. Though other superstars could be deemed somewhat better scorers, tougher fighters or faster skaters, no player has approached Gordie Howe's sustained level of excellence. Incredibly, Gordie finished in the top 5 in NHL scoring for 20 straight seasons. To endure and excel, Howe needed a unique set of qualities, both physical and mental, and the foundations for his astonishing career were laid in him from an early age.