In the 2002 NHL Draft, Rick Nash went #1 and became a premier power-forward goal scorer. The first round was headlined by Kari Lehtonen (#2) and Jay Bouwmeester (#3). While the top was strong, the mid-round was even better, featuring Alexander Steen (#24) and Cam Ward (#25). The most important pick for the future was Duncan Keith at 54th, who became a three-time champion. Overall, 2002 was a foundational draft for the Chicago Blackhawks' dynasty and provided the league with a steady crop of top-pairing defensemen and reliable, high-scoring wingers that played well into the 2010s.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2002 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Rick Nash | LW | 1 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $102,448,780 | 30 | $148,356,759 | 25 |
| Kari Lehtonen | G | 2 | Atlanta Thrashers | $48,988,405 | 300 | $69,032,617 | 280 |
| Jay Bouwmeester | D | 3 | Florida Panthers | $73,454,415 | 112 | $104,265,883 | 101 |
| Joni Pitkanen | D | 4 | Philadelphia Flyers | $28,934,746 | 620 | $42,685,602 | 592 |
| Ryan Whitney | D | 5 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $22,620,112 | 790 | $33,409,792 | 753 |
| Scottie Upshall | RW | 6 | Nashville Predators | $24,034,380 | 739 | $34,615,957 | 730 |
| Joffrey Lupul | F | 7 | Anaheim Ducks | $50,508,405 | 283 | $72,060,869 | 256 |
| Pierre-Marc Bouchard | C | 8 | Minnesota Wild | $26,387,073 | 683 | $40,070,773 | 635 |
| Eric Nystrom | LW | 10 | Calgary Flames | $12,687,974 | 1182 | $17,935,272 | 1217 |
| Keith Ballard | D | 11 | Buffalo Sabres | $30,009,737 | 598 | $43,574,699 | 577 |
| Steve Eminger | D | 12 | Washington Capitals | $8,826,936 | 1465 | $13,752,191 | 1433 |
| Alexander Semin | LW | 13 | Washington Capitals | $44,598,161 | 352 | $64,319,170 | 318 |
| Chris Higgins | C | 14 | Montreal Canadiens | $19,335,775 | 880 | $28,028,658 | 885 |
| Boyd Gordon | RW | 17 | Washington Capitals | $16,077,094 | 1007 | $23,109,436 | 1026 |
| Denis Grebeshkov | D | 18 | Los Angeles Kings | $6,474,000 | 1729 | $9,896,815 | 1733 |
| Daniel Paille | LW | 20 | Buffalo Sabres | $8,346,176 | 1513 | $12,047,459 | 1545 |
| Anton Babchuk | D | 21 | Chicago Blackhawks | $9,264,015 | 1427 | $13,409,514 | 1453 |
| Sean Bergenheim | F | 22 | New York Islanders | $12,784,756 | 1173 | $18,147,604 | 1207 |
| Ben Eager | LW | 23 | Phoenix Coyotes | $4,776,000 | 2024 | $7,169,637 | 2040 |
| Alexander Steen | C | 24 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $53,911,499 | 248 | $73,403,944 | 246 |
| Cam Ward | G | 25 | Carolina Hurricanes | $53,114,341 | 256 | $74,631,387 | 235 |
| Mike Morris | RW | 27 | San Jose Sharks | $730,600 | 4255 | $1,135,682 | 4273 |
| Hannu Toivonen | G | 29 | Boston Bruins | $2,432,900 | 2755 | $3,841,928 | 2762 |
| Jim Slater | C | 30 | Atlanta Thrashers | $9,427,185 | 1409 | $13,678,190 | 1437 |