Mount Rushmore is one of the iconic landmarks of the United States. Nestled in the Black Hills of South Dakota, it’s a mountain with sculptures carved into the side depicting previous influential United States Presidents. It’s comprised of four people, Washington, Lincoln, Roosevelt and Jefferson.
Since its creation, the faces depicted on the mural have been debated in multiple ways like their impact on the country, if others should have been sculpted, or their merit for being on the mountain at all.
In the sports world, a “Mount Rushmore” of a team, or positional area, or city, has been debated for years, and Mile High Sticking will take their turn. As the Avalanche have been in Denver since 1996, there’s plenty of players up for selection, and the franchise’s time in Quebec won’t be taken into consideration.
This series has already discussed each position group on Mount Rushmore to include goalies, defensemen, centers and left wings. The next installment of this series will be the Right Wings. There are plenty to choose from over the course of 28 years in Denver, and although there was some debate, four stood out above the others. Here is the final positional group, the Right Wings.
4.) Milan Hejduk
Milan Hejduk leads the list and he’s likely the greatest right wing in Avalanche history. An obvious other name comes to mind who can surpass Hejduk and we’ll discuss him later. The Czech native was drafted by Quebec in the fourth round in the 1994 draft and spent his entire 14-year NHL career with Colorado, playing 1,020 games, second all time for the franchise.
In Hejduk’s third year with the franchise, he had an excellent season en route to a Stanley Cup championship, scoring 41 goals and adding 38 assists. He continued that momentum into the playoffs, leading the NHL with 16 assists. He added seven goals as well for 23 points in 23 games.
Hejduk was a stalwart with the franchise. He’s third all-time with 14 seasons with the franchise. He’s second all-time in games played, fourth all-time in goals, sixth all-time in assists and fifth all-time in points. He’s third all-time in power play goals and shots on net.
Hejduk was productive, reliable, and bled burgundy and blue for his entire career. He leads Mount Rushmore.