In all honesty, I'm a BIG hockey fan. I grew up in Pittsburgh during the time of Mario Lemieux (the first time around) and back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in the early 90s. My husband claims he knew I was "the one" when I screamed and yelled my head off (and downed a couple 32 oz. beers) at a Tampa Bay Lightning game. Plus, I taught him a thing or two about hockey.

But I know there's a lot of women out there that just aren't like me. Some girls just don't care for sports. They might think hockey is especially brutal, what with all of the fighting, brawling, and missing teeth. However, here are a couple reasons why you ladies should learn to like hockey after all.

Sidney Crosby The Pittsburgh Penguins drafted eighteen year old Sidney Crosby as their first overall pick in 2005. Crosby finished his rookie season with 39 goals and 63 assits for 102 points and second in the Calder Trophy (rookie of the year) voting to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Sid continued to solidify his standing in the NHL with a spectacular sophmore year, where his 120 points landed him the Art Ross Trophy. Crosby led the Penguins to the 2007-08 Stanley Cup playoff finals where they lost to the Detroit Red Wings. (At right, he posed for GQ magazine.)

Ryan Malone Ryan Malone was drafted in the fourth round, 115th overall by the Penguins in the 1999 entry draft. Ryan is the son of former Penguins forward Greg Malone and is the first Pittsburgh area native to have played for the Penguins. Ryan's jersey number is #12 in tribute to his father Greg, who wore that number for Pittsburgh. Prior to Ryan signing with Tampa Bay in the 2008 offseason, the Lightning hired Greg as their head scout for professional talent.

Rick DiPietro Goalie Rick DiPietro was drafted first overall by the New York Islanders in 2000. While many goaltenders prefer to let the puck go around the boards or just stop the puck so a teammate can pick it up, DiPietro often daringly passes the puck into the neutral zone; the pass can reach open forwards and create odd-man rushes or breakaways. After three surgeries over the course of one year (hip and knee), the Islanders announced that DiPietro would miss the rest of 08-09 season due to post-arthroscopic surgical swelling in his right knee.

Zach Parise Parise was drafted 17th overall (1st round) in the 2003 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. His father, JP, is a retired hockey player and his brother Jordan is currently a goaltender in the Austrian Hockey League. In his rookie year, Parise played in all but one game, totaling 14 goals and 18 assists for 32 points. The following season, Parise opened the Devils' year by setting a franchise record for scoring the quickest season-opening goal, 26 seconds into their season opener. He made his first All-Star appearance at the 2009 NHL All Star Game in Montreal, in which he scored a goal. He also set the Devils' record for shots in a season in 2009.

Vincent Lecavalier Dubbed the future "Michael Jordan of hockey," Lecavalier was drafted first overall by Tampa Bay in the 1998 NHL Draft. In 2000, he was named captain of the Lightning, and until Sidney Crosby came along, he was the youngest captain in the NHL. Lecavalier led the Lightning to the Stanley Cup championship in 2004.  He broke the all-time Lightning record record for most points in a season by scoring his 95th point on March 16, 2007 against the Buffalo Sabres. On March 30, 2007, in a game against the Carolina Hurricanes, Lecavalier became the first Lightning player to record 50 goals in a season. He won the Rocket Richard Tropy as the NHL's top goal scorer for the 2006-2007 season. On July 12, 2008, Lecavalier agreed to an eleven-year, $85 million contract extension with the Lightning. His new contract begins after this season, and continues through the 2019–20 season, which may likely see the All-Star forward end his career with the Lightning.