No surprise- Penguins select Crosby with first choice in draft

OTTAWA -- Welcome to the NHL, Sidney Crosby.

As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins took the teenage phenom from Canada with the No. 1 pick on Saturday.

"This is amazing," Crosby said. "I'm just really relieved. It's unbelievable. I'm so happy right now."

The arrival of the young superstar, who's already been compared to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, is just what the NHL needed after the lockout that erased the 2004-05 season. For Crosby, the waiting is finally over.

Crosby, who turns 18 next week, is a 5-foot-11, 193-pound forward with strength and vision. A prolific scorer, Crosby won nearly every trophy the last two seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

He had 66 goals and 102 assists in 62 games, after a rookie campaign that featured 54 goals and 81 assists in 59 games, and was the Canadian major junior player of the year both seasons.

"He creates a lot of excitement," said Lemieux, Crosby's boss and possible linemate with the Penguins. "He has all the tools to be a great player. He sees the ice well, he's a great skater. He says he needs to work on his shot, but it looks pretty good to me."

The Anaheim Mighty Ducks picked forward Bobby Ryan with the No. 2 pick. The Carolina Hurricanes took Jack Johnson, a defenseman in the U.S. national program, at No. 3.

St. Louis drafted Minnesota prep T.J. Oshie with its first pick.

No Russians were taken in the opening round.