The 2003 NHL Draft is widely considered the greatest of all time. Marc-Andre Fleury went #1, but the depth was staggering. Every first-round pick played in the NHL, including Eric Staal (#2), Ryan Getzlaf (#19), Corey Perry (#28), Brent Burns (#20), and Jeff Carter (#11). Talent was so deep that Patrice Bergeron (45th) and Shea Weber (49th) went in the second round. Joe Pavelski went 205th. Overall, 2003 provided the NHL with its next generation of Hall of Famers and captains, setting a standard for depth and impact that remains the benchmark for all scouts.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2003 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Marc-Andre Fleury | G | 1 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $90,789,032 | 54 | $121,027,197 | 67 |
| Eric Staal | C | 2 | Carolina Hurricanes | $86,417,610 | 63 | $121,694,947 | 64 |
| Nathan Horton | C | 3 | Florida Panthers | $60,861,912 | 186 | $84,859,427 | 181 |
| Nikolai Zherdev | F | 4 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $10,442,000 | 1344 | $16,059,911 | 1301 |
| Thomas Vanek | LW | 5 | Buffalo Sabres | $68,831,141 | 134 | $99,238,155 | 121 |
| Milan Michalek | RW | 6 | San Jose Sharks | $34,386,488 | 525 | $49,340,972 | 479 |
| Ryan Suter | D | 7 | Nashville Predators | $119,713,721 | 15 | $156,714,836 | 20 |
| Braydon Coburn | D | 8 | Atlanta Thrashers | $42,197,463 | 389 | $58,284,920 | 369 |
| Dion Phaneuf | D | 9 | Calgary Flames | $75,660,878 | 103 | $106,015,406 | 97 |
| Andrei Kostitsyn | F | 10 | Montreal Canadiens | $15,511,800 | 1036 | $22,787,568 | 1037 |
| Jeff Carter | C | 11 | Philadelphia Flyers | $79,485,737 | 88 | $108,105,050 | 89 |
| Dustin Brown | RW | 13 | Los Angeles Kings | $67,890,780 | 138 | $92,145,755 | 148 |
| Brent Seabrook | D | 14 | Chicago Blackhawks | $94,424,761 | 47 | $125,057,148 | 58 |
| Robert Nilsson | F | 15 | New York Islanders | $5,384,800 | 1899 | $8,270,260 | 1908 |
| Steve Bernier | RW | 16 | San Jose Sharks | $11,303,659 | 1265 | $16,681,333 | 1272 |
| Zach Parise | C | 17 | New Jersey Devils | $109,679,055 | 21 | $147,460,475 | 26 |
| Eric Fehr | RW | 18 | Washington Capitals | $17,057,970 | 955 | $23,833,877 | 1003 |
| Ryan Getzlaf | C | 19 | Anaheim Ducks | $96,803,966 | 40 | $131,362,011 | 51 |
| Brent Burns | RW | 20 | Minnesota Wild | $108,097,707 | 24 | $139,583,530 | 38 |
| Mark Stuart | D | 21 | Boston Bruins | $18,362,522 | 921 | $25,877,448 | 948 |
| Marc-Antoine Pouliot | C | 22 | Edmonton Oilers | $3,747,400 | 2257 | $5,661,402 | 2302 |
| Ryan Kesler | C | 23 | Vancouver Canucks | $77,048,829 | 98 | $103,970,216 | 103 |
| Mike Richards | C | 24 | Philadelphia Flyers | $54,144,273 | 247 | $76,307,331 | 228 |
| Anthony Stewart | F | 25 | Florida Panthers | $2,540,366 | 2693 | $3,685,031 | 2815 |
| Brian Boyle | C | 26 | Los Angeles Kings | $18,635,122 | 909 | $25,102,327 | 966 |
| Jeff Tambellini | LW | 27 | Los Angeles Kings | $1,675,000 | 3204 | $2,501,284 | 3354 |
| Corey Perry | RW | 28 | Anaheim Ducks | $103,828,159 | 26 | $138,597,414 | 40 |
| Patrick Eaves | RW | 29 | Ottawa Senators | $19,586,439 | 867 | $26,798,008 | 921 |