Steve Rexe

Stephen Glen Rexe (February 26, 1947 – November 12, 2013) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, the first-ever draft pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL) and second overall pick in the 1967 NHL Amateur Draft.

In 1967, Rexe was offered a contract by Penguins general manager, Jack Riley, at $7,500 for one season with a $7,500 signing bonus.

Rather than sign with Pittsburgh, Rexe chose to join the Canadian national hockey team as an amateur.

At the 1969 Ice Hockey World Championships Rexe (and Ken Dryden) backed up Wayne Stephenson on the way to a 4th place finish.

[1] In an interview with an Ottawa Sun reporter in April 2008, Rexe stated that he considered it an honour to have been the first-ever pick of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and would have been delighted if the Pens would have invited him to Pittsburgh to drop the first puck when they open their new arena.