The Pittsburgh Penguins made 12 selections at the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Who else did they pick besides Evgeni Malkin?
On June 26, 2004, at the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC, the Pittsburgh Penguins held the second overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft and used that selection on Evgeni Malkin.
After 18 seasons, it is safe to say that the 38-year-old from Magnitogorsk, Russia, is one of the top four skaters in franchise history.
He's won three Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, plus a Hart, Calder, Pearson, and two scoring titles. Malkin has 1,296 points in 1,145 games and is only two lamplighters away from joining the 500-goal club.
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As the Penguins' top pick in the 2004 Entry Draft, Malkin has lived up to the billing. He ranks behind first-overall pick Alex Ovechkin in goals and points while racking up the most assists in his draft class.
However, Malkin was one of 12 Pittsburgh selections that year, so what happened to the remainder of his classmates?
Johannes Salmonsson (Second Round, 31st Overall)
Johannes Salmonsson never played in the NHL, only skating briefly in North America with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL in 2005-06. Outside of three seasons in Germany, he's played most of his career in Sweden, where he played in the SHL as recently as 2023-24.
Alex Goligoski (Second Round, 61st Overall)
Alex Goligoski played for the Penguins when they won the Stanley Cup in 2009 and had a 17-year career in the NHL. He also skated with the Dallas Stars, Arizona Coyotes, and Minnesota Wild, collecting 475 points in 1,078 games.
Nick Johnson (Third Round, 67th Overall)
Nick Johnson played only 113 games in the NHL, splitting time between the Penguins, Wild, Coyotes, and Boston Bruins. At the same time, he skated in the minor leagues, bouncing between the ECHL and AHL before finishing his career in Sweden in 2017.
Brian Gifford (Third Round, 85th Overall)
Brian Gifford skated four seasons with the University of Denver from 2006 to 2010 before playing one season in Spain, winning a league championship in his only campaign.
Tyler Kennedy (Fourth Round, 99th Overall)
Tyler Kennedy played six seasons in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. During his nine-year NHL career, he also skated in San Jose, New York (Islanders), and New Jersey. He is one of four players from the Penguins draft class to play in the NHL.
Michal Sersen (Fifth Round, 130th Overall)
Outside of Malkin's accomplishments, Michal Sersen is one of the more decorated Penguins draft picks from 2004, except he never played in the NHL. After a brief three-season stint in the QMJHL, he returned to Slovakia, where he continues to play with HC Slovan Bratislava in 2024.
Moises Gutierrez (Sixth Round, 164th Overall)
Drafted out of the WHL, Moises Gutierrez only skated in eight AHL games. He spent most of his professional hockey career with various teams in the ECHL and retired in 2012.
Chris Peluso (Seventh Round, 194th Overall)
The Penguins drafted Chris Peluso from the USHL. After four seasons in the NCAA with Bemidji State University, he never played professional hockey and departed the game in 2010.
Jordan Morrison (Seventh Round, 222nd Overall)
Jordan Morrison was a member of several championship-winning OHL, ECHL, and ACH teams. Despite a lengthy career, he only dressed in seven games in the AHL, spending most of his time in the ECHL while skating in a handful of European leagues.
David Brown (Eighth Round, 228th Overall)
David Brown was the only goalie the Penguins selected in the 2004 Entry Draft. He never made it to the NHL, skating 25 games in the AHL. He also played in the ECHL, CHL, EIHL, and ACH before retiring in 2018.
Brian Ihnacak (Ninth Round, 259th Overall)
Brian Ihnacak is a Brown University alumni who didn't advance past the ECHL in North America. In addition to playing in the CHL, he's spent most of his time skating in various leagues in Europe and Russia, most recently playing for Aosta in Italy in 2023-24.