The 1994 NHL Draft began with defenseman Ed Jovanovski going first overall to Florida. The first round was solid but not flashy, featuring Ryan Smyth (#6), Jeff Friesen (#11), and Patrik Elias (#51). High-impact players like Jose Theodore (#44) and Mattias Ohlund (#13) emerged as the class matured. The true brilliance of 1994 was found in the deep rounds; Daniel Alfredsson was stolen at 133rd, and Milan Hejduk went 87th. Even goaltender Tomas Vokoun was a 226th-round afterthought. Overall, 1994 was a masterclass in scouting depth, where the greatest legends were found by teams digging well past the first 100 picks.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 1994 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Ed Jovanovski | D | 1 | Florida Panthers | $69,094,471 | 128 | $111,138,183 | 81 |
| Oleg Tverdovsky | D | 2 | Anaheim Ducks | $21,107,143 | 833 | $38,992,733 | 657 |
| Radek Bonk | C | 3 | Ottawa Senators | $22,587,571 | 792 | $40,074,849 | 634 |
| Jason Bonsignore | C | 4 | Edmonton Oilers | $1,281,390 | 3543 | $2,641,160 | 3267 |
| Jeff O'Neill | C | 5 | Hartford Whalers | $16,943,356 | 964 | $30,741,599 | 821 |
| Ryan Smyth | LW | 6 | Edmonton Oilers | $55,851,498 | 228 | $89,162,339 | 159 |
| Jamie Storr | G | 7 | Los Angeles Kings | $8,795,000 | 1469 | $16,884,931 | 1265 |
| Jason Wiemer | C | 8 | Tampa Bay Lightning | $12,012,500 | 1223 | $22,392,726 | 1047 |
| Brett Lindros | RW | 9 | New York Islanders | $7,174,286 | 1640 | $14,608,343 | 1387 |
| Nolan Baumgartner | D | 10 | Washington Capitals | $3,690,000 | 2272 | $7,114,517 | 2047 |
| Jeff Friesen | LW | 11 | San Jose Sharks | $23,027,857 | 780 | $42,475,343 | 598 |
| Wade Belak | RW | 12 | Quebec Nordiques | $7,421,896 | 1610 | $12,787,154 | 1485 |
| Mattias Ohlund | D | 13 | Vancouver Canucks | $52,426,829 | 265 | $83,754,085 | 185 |
| Ethan Moreau | LW | 14 | Chicago Blackhawks | $18,628,000 | 910 | $31,610,577 | 800 |
| Alexander Kharlamov | RW | 15 | Washington Capitals | $475,000 | 4737 | $976,044 | 4460 |
| Eric Fichaud | G | 16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $2,465,650 | 2731 | $4,961,557 | 2464 |
| Wayne Primeau | C | 17 | Buffalo Sabres | $12,188,804 | 1206 | $20,950,874 | 1092 |
| Brad Brown | D | 18 | Montreal Canadiens | $3,327,778 | 2385 | $6,246,470 | 2203 |
| Chris Dingman | LW | 19 | Calgary Flames | $4,412,175 | 2096 | $8,153,888 | 1920 |
| Jason Botterill | LW | 20 | Dallas Stars | $1,900,000 | 3040 | $3,642,874 | 2830 |
| Evgeni Ryabchikov | G | 21 | Boston Bruins | $0 | 6877 | $0 | 6848 |
| Yan Golubovsky | D | 23 | Detroit Red Wings | $1,135,000 | 3639 | $2,277,386 | 3461 |
| Chris Wells | C | 24 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $2,254,000 | 2845 | $4,540,419 | 2563 |
| Vadim Sharifijanov | RW | 25 | New Jersey Devils | $1,650,000 | 3224 | $3,233,218 | 2996 |
| Daniel Cloutier | G | 26 | New York Rangers | $12,025,000 | 1222 | $21,055,684 | 1088 |