It’s just the way it is: the top guy gets all the glamour. In the immortal words of the greatest hockey player of all time, Alexandre Daigle, “No one remembers number two.”

What? Do we detect the teensiest crack in the otherwise unassailable opinion of a teenaged, pre-sexy-nurse Daigle? Say it ain’t so! But take a glance at the list of GWMHL second overall draft picks, and you can see where a lot of the real substance is. While the field of first overalls has its share sure-fire hits along with busts and also-rans, the #2 spot boasts some of the biggest impact players in today’s game.

• The all-time goal and points leader among second overalls is Portland’s Ilya Kovalchuk, with 442 and 832; simply amazing considering he was drafted in 2002
• 2006 #2 Sidney Crosby won his first scoring crown just this past season
• The biggest bust at #2 is a toss-up – is it Jeff Friesen? Well, he has three 30-goal seasons to his name; our vote is for Ryan Malone, a good player who nevertheless managed to get himself cut by Oregon in 2008 and hasn’t managed to drag Nashville out of the cellar
• Two #2s have been dealt mere moments after being drafted – Brad Stuart in 2000 (for Mike Johnson, Brian “Mr. October” Savage, and a second rounder – ouch) and, a decade later, Matt Duchene (with Kyle Quincey for Evgeni Malkin and Jamie Langenbrunner)
• In fact, teams aren’t shy about trading their #2s – Patrick Marleau (1998) has seen action for five teams in his career and Alexei Yashin bounced around before landing outside the league entirely

2010 – Matt Duchene, Baltimore
2009 – Drew Doughty, Saint Louis
2008 – Nicklas Backstrom, Salem
2007 – Paul Stastny, Farmington
2006 – Sidney Crosby, Bristol
2004 – Ryan Malone, Oregon
2003 – Rick Nash, Rosemont
2002 – Ilya Kovalchuk, Oregon
2001 – Marian Gaborik, Ann Arbor
2000 – Brad Stuart, Vancouver
1999 – Milan Hejduk, South Carolina
1998 – Patrick Marleau, South Carolina
1997 – Wade Redden, Spokane
1996 – Ed Jovanovski, Idaho
1995 – Jeff Friesen, Rochester
1994 – Alexei Yashin, Madison
1993 – Felix Potvin, Fort Erie