The 2001 NHL Draft saw Ilya Kovalchuk bring elite Russian scoring to Atlanta at #1. Jason Spezza (#2) and Stephen Weiss (#4) highlighted the centers, while Mikko Koivu (#6) became a franchise icon. The round also produced Dan Hamhuis (#12) and Ales Hemsky (#13). Later rounds saw Mike Cammalleri (#49) and Patrick Sharp (#95) emerge as high-impact scorers. Overall, 2001 was a high-skill draft that introduced the league to Kovalchuk’s dominance and provided several teams with their long-term #1 centers, bridging the gap into the faster, post-lockout era of high-octane offensive hockey.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2001 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Ilya Kovalchuk | F | 1 | Atlanta Thrashers | $105,679,024 | 25 | $152,057,358 | 22 |
| Jason Spezza | C | 2 | Ottawa Senators | $89,627,927 | 58 | $127,619,348 | 56 |
| Alexander Svitov | C | 3 | Tampa Bay Lightning | $7,060,000 | 1658 | $10,756,521 | 1645 |
| Stephen Weiss | C | 4 | Florida Panthers | $39,170,280 | 441 | $56,000,103 | 400 |
| Stanislav Chistov | F | 5 | Anaheim Ducks | $5,360,000 | 1904 | $8,465,530 | 1890 |
| Mikko Koivu | C | 6 | Minnesota Wild | $72,271,476 | 117 | $99,849,477 | 119 |
| Mike Komisarek | D | 7 | Montreal Canadiens | $26,960,681 | 667 | $39,974,636 | 637 |
| Pascal Leclaire | G | 8 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $2,727,000 | 2610 | $4,330,165 | 2617 |
| Tuomo Ruutu | F | 9 | Chicago Blackhawks | $35,599,463 | 505 | $51,213,854 | 456 |
| Dan Blackburn | G | 10 | New York Rangers | $3,390,000 | 2368 | $6,061,258 | 2240 |
| Fredrik Sjostrom | RW | 11 | Phoenix Coyotes | $4,707,000 | 2040 | $7,283,705 | 2024 |
| Dan Hamhuis | D | 12 | Nashville Predators | $44,139,545 | 362 | $62,395,688 | 332 |
| Ales Hemsky | RW | 13 | Edmonton Oilers | $49,895,886 | 290 | $72,660,635 | 254 |
| Chuck Kobasew | RW | 14 | Calgary Flames | $13,963,447 | 1105 | $21,320,657 | 1079 |
| R.J. Umberger | C | 16 | Vancouver Canucks | $33,726,829 | 534 | $48,310,479 | 496 |
| Carlo Colaiacovo | D | 17 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $15,365,277 | 1042 | $22,676,172 | 1040 |
| Shaone Morrisonn | D | 19 | Boston Bruins | $9,623,800 | 1399 | $14,911,923 | 1368 |
| Marcel Goc | C | 20 | San Jose Sharks | $10,106,122 | 1360 | $14,812,626 | 1372 |
| Colby Armstrong | RW | 21 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $12,980,369 | 1159 | $19,411,725 | 1143 |
| Jiri Novotny | C | 22 | Buffalo Sabres | $1,950,000 | 3009 | $3,005,156 | 3101 |
| Tim Gleason | D | 23 | Ottawa Senators | $21,744,780 | 811 | $31,705,390 | 797 |
| Lukas Krajicek | D | 24 | Florida Panthers | $4,851,000 | 2004 | $7,481,040 | 2007 |
| Alexander Perezhogin | C | 25 | Montreal Canadiens | $8,554,000 | 1495 | $12,387,586 | 1519 |
| Jason Bacashihua | G | 26 | Dallas Stars | $585,200 | 4492 | $935,612 | 4545 |
| Jeff Woywitka | D | 27 | Philadelphia Flyers | $4,281,756 | 2130 | $6,471,010 | 2162 |
| David Steckel | F | 30 | Los Angeles Kings | $4,593,902 | 2060 | $6,759,594 | 2118 |