In the 1992 NHL Draft, the expansion Tampa Bay Lightning made Roman Hamrlik the first pick in franchise history. The first round also saw Alexei Yashin go #2 to Ottawa and Darius Kasparaitis go #5 to the Islanders. It was a strong year for defensemen, with Sergei Gonchar (#14) and Rhett Warrener (#27) entering the league. High-impact forwards like Jason Arnott (#7) also highlighted the top tier. Late-round scouting unearthed Jere Lehtinen (88th) and Nikolai Khabibulin (204th). Overall, the 1992 draft provided the backbone the league’s newest expansion teams needed, offering a mix of reliable blue-liners and productive European forwards.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 1992 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Roman Hamrlik | D | 1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | $58,939,852 | 207 | $98,966,445 | 122 |
| Alexei Yashin | C | 2 | Ottawa Senators | $69,821,517 | 126 | $119,390,172 | 68 |
| Mike Rathje | D | 3 | San Jose Sharks | $26,371,429 | 684 | $44,140,893 | 564 |
| Todd Warriner | LW | 4 | Quebec Nordiques | $4,245,900 | 2143 | $8,102,379 | 1925 |
| Darius Kasparaitis | D | 5 | New York Islanders | $23,983,429 | 741 | $43,472,939 | 581 |
| Ryan Sittler | LW | 7 | Philadelphia Flyers | $550,000 | 4545 | $1,130,156 | 4277 |
| Brandon Convery | C | 8 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $453,695 | 4793 | $916,958 | 4586 |
| Robert Petrovicky | C | 9 | Hartford Whalers | $1,250,000 | 3564 | $2,538,636 | 3335 |
| Andrei Nazarov | LW | 10 | San Jose Sharks | $6,941,214 | 1670 | $13,116,307 | 1467 |
| David Cooper | D | 11 | Buffalo Sabres | $605,000 | 4451 | $1,229,078 | 4201 |
| Sergei Krivokrasov | RW | 12 | Chicago Blackhawks | $4,477,857 | 2084 | $8,839,535 | 1849 |
| Joe Hulbig | LW | 13 | Edmonton Oilers | $756,850 | 4207 | $1,540,782 | 3988 |
| Sergei Gonchar | D | 14 | Washington Capitals | $67,998,084 | 137 | $107,957,006 | 90 |
| Jason Bowen | D | 15 | Philadelphia Flyers | $404,462 | 4914 | $864,396 | 4735 |
| Dimitri Kvartalnov | LW | 16 | Boston Bruins | $650,000 | 4372 | $1,466,650 | 4037 |
| Sergei Bautin | D | 17 | Winnipeg Jets | $848,100 | 4050 | $1,876,610 | 3702 |
| Martin Straka | C | 19 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $28,771,400 | 623 | $51,073,991 | 459 |
| David Wilkie | D | 20 | Montreal Canadiens | $1,364,014 | 3472 | $2,746,346 | 3216 |
| Libor Polasek | C | 21 | Vancouver Canucks | $219,900 | 5359 | $451,857 | 5554 |
| Curtis Bowen | LW | 22 | Detroit Red Wings | $0 | 6877 | $0 | 6848 |
| Grant Marshall | RW | 23 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $7,890,000 | 1557 | $14,504,989 | 1391 |
| Peter Ferraro | RW | 24 | New York Rangers | $2,100,000 | 2938 | $4,203,104 | 2654 |