Valek & Company Communications

Hockey stars Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins were hailed as the second and third coming respectively of Wayne Gretzky. All three players are known for their otherworldly ability to communicate with teammates on the ice. They have a sixth sense for knowing where teammates are located at any given moment, despite playing a game where players are constantly in motion.

Lemieux played 17 years for the Penguins and now is the team's principal owner and chairman of the board. Despite being plagued by various injuries and ailments (including Hodgkin's lymphoma and atrial fibrillation) and healthy enough to play in only about 65 percent of the team's games scheduled during his career, he was the National Hockey League's seventh highest scorer when he retired in 2005. He led the Penguins to two Stanley Cups.

Lemieux created the Mario Lemieux Foundation in 1993, the same year he was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma. The Foundation funds promising medical research projects. The Foundation also supports the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the Leukemia Society, the Lupus Foundation and the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh.

In 2006-2007, Penguin Sidney Crosby led the NHL in scoring at the age of 19 during his second year in the league. He was the youngest player and only teenager to win a scoring title in any major North American professional sports league. Crosby also was named the NHL's Most Valuable Player. This year, Crosby is among the leaders in scoring so far. Crosby is the best player since Mario Lemieux, says Gretzky, who is the NHL's all-time leading scorer and best hockey player ever, experts agree.

Middle schooler Erin Blaber is not a hockey player but scores a hat trick with the Weekly Penguin, a magazine the young journalist publishes with her friends. The Weekly Penguin includes news, advice, ads, poetry, quizzes, art and fiction. It's an impressive publication that Erin can be quite proud of!