In the 2006 NHL Draft, Erik Johnson was #1, but the round was defined by Jonathan Toews (#3) and Nicklas Backstrom (#4). Phil Kessel (#5) and Claude Giroux (#22) added elite scoring, while Jordan Staal (#2) became a premier defensive center. The draft produced incredibly gritty winners, including Brad Marchand (71st) and Milan Lucic (50th). Semyon Varlamov (#23) also became a staple. Overall, 2006 was a leadership draft. It produced the "heart" of multiple championship teams, emphasizing hockey IQ and 200-foot play over pure highlight-reel flash, though it eventually delivered both.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2006 NHL entry draft:
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Erik Johnson | D | 1 | St. Louis Blues | $67,652,439 | 140 | $87,055,228 | 169 |
| Jordan Staal | C | 2 | Pittsburgh Penguins | $86,194,146 | 65 | $111,386,429 | 80 |
| Jonathan Toews | F | 3 | Chicago Blackhawks | $121,362,195 | 13 | $160,275,701 | 16 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | C | 4 | Washington Capitals | $113,062,195 | 20 | $143,469,221 | 34 |
| Phil Kessel | C | 5 | Boston Bruins | $92,935,366 | 51 | $125,040,326 | 59 |
| Derick Brassard | C | 6 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $41,821,707 | 395 | $56,751,775 | 388 |
| Kyle Okposo | RW | 7 | New York Islanders | $60,135,732 | 195 | $77,595,976 | 219 |
| Peter Mueller | C | 8 | Phoenix Coyotes | $7,559,756 | 1598 | $11,087,278 | 1620 |
| James Sheppard | C | 9 | Minnesota Wild | $6,691,177 | 1703 | $9,692,761 | 1751 |
| Michael Frolik | F | 10 | Florida Panthers | $34,236,268 | 528 | $46,262,531 | 521 |
| Jonathan Bernier | G | 11 | Los Angeles Kings | $36,732,683 | 476 | $47,345,619 | 508 |
| Bryan Little | C | 12 | Atlanta Thrashers | $63,706,098 | 167 | $82,267,670 | 193 |
| Jiri Tlusty | F | 13 | Toronto Maple Leafs | $8,203,049 | 1527 | $11,501,092 | 1596 |
| Michael Grabner | RW | 14 | Vancouver Canucks | $29,050,732 | 615 | $38,805,625 | 662 |
| Trevor Lewis | C | 17 | Los Angeles Kings | $19,028,006 | 891 | $24,781,092 | 976 |
| Chris Stewart | RW | 18 | Colorado Avalanche | $22,456,098 | 793 | $31,143,451 | 812 |
| Bobby Sanguinetti | D | 21 | New York Rangers | $709,756 | 4284 | $983,159 | 4450 |
| Claude Giroux | RW | 22 | Philadelphia Flyers | $102,713,780 | 29 | $129,248,669 | 54 |
| Semyon Varlamov | G | 23 | Washington Capitals | $66,621,098 | 148 | $84,519,880 | 182 |
| Patrik Berglund | C | 25 | St. Louis Blues | $29,719,878 | 602 | $40,406,945 | 628 |
| Leland Irving | G | 26 | Calgary Flames | $402,439 | 4919 | $564,947 | 5331 |
| Ivan Vishnevskiy | D | 27 | Dallas Stars | $781,250 | 4132 | $1,002,735 | 4407 |
| Nick Foligno | LW | 28 | Ottawa Senators | $66,243,415 | 153 | $82,877,260 | 192 |
| Chris Summers | D | 29 | Phoenix Coyotes | $2,925,000 | 2514 | $4,091,317 | 2685 |
| Matthew Corrente | D | 30 | New Jersey Devils | $1,567,317 | 3287 | $2,263,899 | 3469 |