Watch: NHL legend Mario Lemieux receives warm welcome with loud cheers at Centre Bell during the ceremonial puck drop

The 4 Nations Face-off is officially upon us, beginning on Wednesday night at Bell Centre in downtown Montreal, Quebec. The venue, which is home to the Montreal Canadiens, is one of two chosen to host the tournament along with TD Garden in Boston.

Prior to the opening matchup between Canada and Sweden, one of Quebec's most famous native sons was on hand to perform the ceremonial puck drop. Former Pittsburgh Penguins captain and team owner Mario Lemieux was on hand as the special guest, earning a roaring standing ovation from the crowd.

Lemieux had also been a guest inside of the Team Canada dressing room to reveal the starting lineup.

One of the most talented and greatest players ever to play in the NHL, Lemieux was immediately inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame upon his second and final retirement in 2006.

Selected with the 1st overall pick by the Penguins in the 1983 NHL Draft, Lemieux went on to set multiple team records and later helped the team win back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1992 and 1993; he won the Conn Smythe Trophy in both postseason runs.

Mario Lemieux has helped Canada win multiple medals in his international career

Lemieux helped Canada achieve multiple successes, starting by winning a bronze medal in the 1983 World Junior Championship.

He later won the silver medal in the 1985 World Championship, the 1987 Canada Cup, the gold medal as captain of Team Canada in 2002, and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.

But upon his retirement in 2006, Lemieux said that he decided he could no longer play at the level he expected of himself and that his health was the most important thing.

"I have two main reasons for retiring here today," Lemieux said at the time. "The first one is I can no longer play at the level that I was accustomed to in the past and that has been very, very frustrating to me throughout this past year. The second one is realizing that my health, along with my family is the most important thing in the world.

"I also realized that the new NHL is really for the young guys and I think we have a lot of them now in the league. Some young guys that are dominating -- we have a few here in Pittsburgh -- and I think these young guys are really the future of the NHL," he said.

He finished his career with 690 goals and 1,033 assists, which was the seventh-most in NHL history at the time.