In 1990, the Penguins drafted Czechoslovakian Jaromír Jágr with the fifth overall pick. Following the Velvet Revolution of 1989, Jagr was the first Czechoslovak to attend the NHL Draft with the government's permission, becoming the first drafted without having to defect to the West. Jagr was also the first European drafted in the first round by the Penguins after selecting only Canadians in their first 23 years. He was the first of four consecutive first round Europeans, and eight in ten years from 1990 to 1999. That draft was also notable in being the first time that less than half of Pittsburgh's picks were used on players born in Canada and the first time that a majority of their selections did not hail from Canada (6 players came from the United States, 4 from Canada).