The Islanders Select Matthew Schaefer With The First Pick In The NHL Draft And It Got Emotional

The New York Islanders made a shocking run up the order in the NHL Draft Lottery earlier this year, and that allowed them to pick first in this year's NHL Draft.

This year's class had a consensus No. 1 and that was Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer, and while some thought maybe the team would opt for Boston College center James Hagens — who hails from Long Island — the Isles dealing defenseman Noah Dobson to the Canadiens earlier in the day made it pretty clear that they were going to go with Schaeffer.

The 17-year-old is considered by many to be the kind of player who can change a franchise, and that's something the Islanders need.

What's even wilder is that he became the consensus No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft class despite appearing in just 17 games this season due to a broken collarbone he suffered in the World Junior Championship.

Emotions are high whenever a player realizes his lifelong dream and gets picked first in the NHL Draft, but there was a little extra emotion for Schaefer and his family, seeing as his mother passed away after a battle with cancer a little over a year ago.

Man, what a moment, especially when he kissed that ribbon on his new Isles sweater. 

There is something that we need to address with this draft, though.

This is the first year that the NHL Draft is "decentralized," meaning all of the teams are in their home cities instead of being at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, and that's why we have that super awkward moment where the draftee talks to his GM on a screen like it's the Wizard of Oz.

I get why they're doing it, but… Just bring the teams sitting at tables so we can see which teams are talking to each other to make a trade.