The 2016 NHL Draft saw Auston Matthews go #1 to Toronto, followed by Patrik Laine (#2). The round featured Matthew Tkachuk (#6), who became a premier power winger, and Mikhail Sergachev (#9). Skill defenders like Charlie McAvoy (#14) and Jakob Chychrun (#16) highlighted the back half of the round. Adam Fox was found in the third round (66th). Overall, 2016 was a high-end skill draft that solidified the USA Hockey program's dominance. It produced multiple "game-breakers" and elite defenders who used modern skating and high hockey IQ to dominate puck possession.
Career earnings of players picked in the first round of the 2016 NHL entry draft.
| Player | Pos. | Pick # | Drafted by | Career Earnings |
Rank | Career Earnings In today's $ |
Rank |
| Patrik Laine | RW | 2 | Winnipeg Jets | $63,075,000 | 171 | $71,714,958 | 260 |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | LW | 3 | Columbus Blue Jackets | $50,282,500 | 287 | $54,568,829 | 414 |
| Jesse Puljujarvi | RW | 4 | Edmonton Oilers | $8,232,927 | 1524 | $9,619,737 | 1761 |
| Olli Juolevi | D | 5 | Vancouver Canucks | $1,582,500 | 3280 | $1,928,739 | 3667 |
| Matthew Tkachuk | LW | 6 | Calgary Flames | $66,525,000 | 150 | $73,988,544 | 244 |
| Clayton Keller | C | 7 | Arizona Coyotes | $41,757,500 | 396 | $46,208,256 | 523 |
| Alexander Nylander | LW | 8 | Buffalo Sabres | $3,654,444 | 2283 | $4,309,382 | 2623 |
| Mikhail Sergachev | D | 9 | Montreal Canadiens | $50,232,500 | 288 | $54,169,812 | 419 |
| Tyson Jost | C | 10 | Colorado Avalanche | $10,906,625 | 1296 | $12,579,299 | 1499 |
| Logan Brown | C | 11 | Ottawa Senators | $2,837,069 | 2551 | $3,059,346 | 3070 |
| Michael McLeod | C | 12 | New Jersey Devils | $5,847,500 | 1813 | $6,866,606 | 2092 |
| Jake Bean | D | 13 | Carolina Hurricanes | $12,257,500 | 1205 | $13,521,637 | 1446 |
| Charlie McAvoy | D | 14 | Boston Bruins | $59,800,000 | 198 | $65,493,730 | 308 |
| Luke Kunin | C | 15 | Minnesota Wild | $16,307,500 | 992 | $18,577,092 | 1186 |
| Jakob Chychrun | D | 16 | Arizona Coyotes | $39,525,000 | 433 | $43,186,260 | 587 |
| Dante Fabbro | D | 17 | Nashville Predators | $17,700,000 | 943 | $19,340,273 | 1148 |
| Logan Stanley | D | 18 | Winnipeg Jets | $7,057,500 | 1659 | $7,861,747 | 1951 |
| Kieffer Bellows | LW | 19 | New York Islanders | $2,323,413 | 2810 | $2,596,977 | 3300 |
| Dennis Cholowski | D | 20 | Detroit Red Wings | $4,115,000 | 2172 | $4,727,879 | 2521 |
| Julien Gauthier | RW | 21 | Carolina Hurricanes | $4,815,000 | 2014 | $5,530,569 | 2320 |
| Henrik Borgstrom | C | 23 | Florida Panthers | $2,597,916 | 2670 | $3,100,736 | 3047 |
| Max Jones | LW | 24 | Anaheim Ducks | $7,550,000 | 1599 | $8,423,498 | 1894 |
| Riley Tufte | LW | 25 | Dallas Stars | $1,525,000 | 3329 | $1,622,092 | 3922 |
| Tage Thompson | C | 26 | St. Louis Blues | $28,311,071 | 635 | $30,409,108 | 827 |
| Brett Howden | C | 27 | Tampa Bay Lightning | $10,890,000 | 1300 | $11,887,028 | 1559 |
| Lucas Johansen | D | 28 | Washington Capitals | $1,140,079 | 3635 | $1,245,914 | 4184 |
| Trent Frederic | C | 29 | Boston Bruins | $12,600,000 | 1188 | $13,581,236 | 1443 |
| Sam Steel | C | 30 | Anaheim Ducks | $7,714,125 | 1583 | $8,466,284 | 1889 |