Schaefer selected No. 1 by Islanders at 2025 NHL Draft

LOS ANGELES -- Matthew Schaefer has been voted onto the Island.

Schaefer, a defenseman with Erie of the Ontario Hockey League, was selected No. 1 by the New York Islanders in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater on Friday.

Schaefer (6-foot-2, 186 pounds) is the second player from Erie to be chosen No. 1 and first since center Connor McDavid was picked by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Schaefer wore a suit jacket that included photos of his mom on the inner lining nearest his heart. It was an emotional moment for Schaefer, who lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer in February 2024, two months after his billet mother, Emily Matson, died in an apparent suicide.

After hearing his name, he stood up and hugged his father, Todd, brother, Johnny, and other family members nearby. The Islanders had a cancer ribbon and the initials "JS" stitched on the jersey that Schaefer wore after the selection, and he kissed the ribbon after slipping on the No. 25 sweater.

"The New York Islanders are so amazing and things like this (cancer ribbon) mean so much to me and it's so real," Schaefer said. "You waited for this moment your whole life and I wish my mom could have been here but I know she's with me, my brother and my dad in spirit. We're super excited and can't wait."

The Islanders gained the No. 1 pick after jumping nine teams by winning the NHL Draft Lottery on May 5.

Schaefer, who turns 18 on Sept. 5, had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) and a plus-21 rating in 17 games this season. He had surgery Dec. 30, three days after sustaining a broken clavicle while playing for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. He missed the last 46 games, including nine OHL playoff games.

He was cleared for contact by doctors on May 1 and participated in all but two tests (pull-ups, bench press) at the 2025 NHL Scouting Combine presented by Fanatics in Buffalo earlier this month.

"All the Isles fans here were taking pictures with me, they're amazing," Schaefer said. "They're doing chants. You can see how tight-knit the group is with the fans and they care so much, That's what you want behind you when you're playing at home so I can't wait to get started and I can't wait for this long journey together."

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced the pick in the first decentralized draft in League history. Over 90 top prospects were present, but team executives, coaches and scouts instead gathered in a central location in their home market or a place of their choosing.

The remaining 31 picks in the first round were announced by special guests or a celebrity with a tie to a particular team or a current or former player from the team making the pick.

The Islanders traded defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens to acquire two more picks in the first round (Nos. 16 and 17) and selected right wing Victor Eklund (5-11, 169) with Djurgarden of Allsvenskan at No. 16 and physical defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson (6-1, 199) of Barrie (OHL) with the next pick.

Michael Misa with Saginaw (OHL) was picked No. 2 by the San Jose Sharks, and Anton Frondell with Djurgarden in Allsvenskan (Sweden) was selected No. 3 by the Chicago Blackhawks. Caleb Desnoyers with Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League was chosen No. 4 by the Utah Mammoth, who jumped 10 teams after winning the second draw of the Draft Lottery.

Schaefer, No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters all season, was named "Best Skater" of the Western Conference in the OHL coaches' poll and won the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospect Award.

Among the NHL players Schaefer will skate with this summer at the Canadian Ice Academy in Mississauga, Ontario, is Islanders defenseman and former Erie alumnus Adam Pelech. They each work out with trainer Bryan Marshall. Former NHL defenseman Mark Giordano is Schaefer's defense coach.

Misa (6-1, 182) led the OHL with 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games. It was the most points in an OHL season since Patrick Kane had 145 points (62 goals, 83 assists) in 58 games with London in 2006-07.

"There's good weather there," Misa said. "I know that they've got a great team and a great young core, coming up. They're in a little bit of a rebuild situation now but nothing but good things to say."

Misa is excited to one day have an opportunity to play with Sharks center Macklin Celebrini.

"He's a heck of a player," Misa said. "Just being able to watch him this year and learn stuff off his game. I'm really excited to meet him in the near future."

Frondell (6-1, 204) averaged nearly a point per game (25 points; 11 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games to finish with the second-most points ever by a player aged 17 or younger in Sweden's second division (behind William Nylander in 2013-14).

Sweden has been well represented in the first round of the NHL Draft, but a 13-year run with at least one player chosen in the opening round ended last year when the earliest pick was forward Lucas Pettersson to the Anaheim Ducks in the second round (No. 35).

This year, there were two Sweden-born players selected -- Frondell and Eklund.

James Hagens (5-10, 186), who had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games as a freshman with Boston College in Hockey East this season, was selected by the Boston Bruins at No. 7. Actor Adam Sandler of "Happy Gilmore" fame made the pick.

"I saw [Sandler] pop up and I remember looking at my mom and I just had the biggest smile on my face because I loved 'Happy Gilmore' it was my favorite movie," Hagens said. "It was just right away the coolest thing and then as he starts talking, you hope to hear that he's going to say 'Boston College' and he ended up saying it and I waited an extra second to hear my name, stood up, and from there it was just nuts.

"I remember walking down the aisle seeing him riding his golf club or whatever it was he was doing, so that was pretty funny."

The Philadelphia Flyers entered the first round with three picks (No. 6, No. 22, No. 31). They chose right wing Porter Martone (6-3, 204) with Brampton (OHL) at No. 6 and then traded pick Nos. 22 and 31 to the Pittsburgh Penguins and chose center Jack Nesbitt (6-4, 186) with Windsor (OHL) at No. 12.

Two goalies were chosen in the first round, marking the first time in four years a player at the position was selected. Pyotr Andreyanov (6-0, 207), who was 23-6-6 with a 1.75 GAA, .942 save percentage and three shutouts in 37 regular-season games with CSKA in Russia's junior league, was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets at No. 20. Joshua Ravensbergen (6-5, 191), who was 33-13-4 with a 3.00 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 51 games with Prince George of the Western Hockey League, went to San Jose at No. 30.

Meredith Gaudreau, the wife of the late Johnny Gaudreau, who died Aug. 29, 2024 when he was struck by an alleged drunk driver who has been charged with death by auto, announced the two first-round picks by the Blue Jackets. She was given a standing ovation prior to announcing defenseman Jackson Smith (6-4, 199) of Tri-City (WHL) at No. 14 and Andreyanov six picks later.

There were five NCAA players selected on Friday. Boston College and the University of Michigan each had players chosen in the opening round for the 30th straight year (beginning in 1996). Hagens (Boston College) went to the Bruins, and Michigan center William Horcoff (6-5, 203) to the Penguins at No. 24.

Other college players taken were defenseman Logan Hensler (6-2, 198) of the University of Wisconsin (No. 23, Ottawa Senators), defenseman Sascha Boumedienne (6-2, 184) of Boston University (No. 28, Winnipeg Jets) and center Cullen Potter (5-10, 172) of Arizona State (No. 32, Calgary Flames).

"I think college hockey is an unreal route to go," Boumedienne said. "Obviously there's a lot older players in college and it's more of a pro-style game so it gets you ready for the NHL and that's what I wanted."