After weeks of excitement, anticipation and speculation, the New York Islanders selected Matthew Schaefer with the first pick of the 2025 NHL draft.
The Islanders shockingly landed the top pick back in May despite having a 3.5-percent chance of winning the draft lottery. The organization picked first overall four times previously, with John Tavares being the last choice back in 2009.
While mononucleosis and a broken clavicle suffered at the world juniors derailed most of Schaefer’s season, the 6-foot-2, 183-pound defenseman still managed to put up 22 points in 17 games with the Erie Otters and remained a consensus No. 1 pick heading into the opening night of the NHL draft.
Injury aside, it’s been a continuous upward trajectory for Schaefer, who was the No. 1 selection in the 2023 OHL draft. With tremendous showings at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge, he emerged as the clear top draft-eligible player ahead of contenders Michael Misa, Porter Martone and James Hagens.
'Stick Tap To Mom': Top 2025 Draft Prospect Matthew Schaefer Aims To Make Late Mother ProudLeading up to the 2025 NHL draft, as part of the San Jose
Sharks’ due diligence, they had one of their team psychologists
interview Matthew Schaefer. This was not a typical draft interview,
because the psychologist was not a hockey guy and didn’t know anything
about the young man with whom he was speaking. He also quite obviously
didn’t know Schaefer’s backstory.
What The Islanders Get With Matthew Schaefer
Schaefer has drawn comparisons from across the scouting world to Miro Heiskanen of the Dallas Stars, and for good reason.
Schaefer is an elite two-way blueliner with game-breaking potential built on a remarkable transition game and impressive offensive instincts.
While his effortless skating is the main source of what drives Schaefer’s offensive game, he can also break down opponents with his hands in 1-on-1 scenarios and can work well with very little space given to him. He also has great off-puck habits, often joining the rush as a fourth forward without compromising his defensive positioning.
He also leverages his size extremely well on both ends of the ice. Schaefer is great at protecting the puck from opposing players and is a fierce competitor when defending, closing off gaps at a high level while using his physical advantages and overall athleticism to kill plays on the rush and in his own zone.
Schaefer can make an impact in all on-ice situations, and he can control the flow of the game like nobody else in this class. The Islanders truly have themselves a special talent that should have no problem making an impact at the NHL level immediately.
The New Foundational Piece On Defense
The Islanders also made headlines earlier Friday afternoon with a reported blockbuster deal that sent defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for both of Montreal’s first-round picks in this year’s draft and 23-year-old forward Emil Heineman.
Dobson, who was a pending RFA, signed a monstrous eight-year extension with the Canadiens worth $76 million, carrying an annual cap hit of $9.5 million.
Sitting here in tears. Such an emotional moment and stick taps to the #Isles for adding the cancer ribbon on the jersey.
— Kristy Flannery (@InStilettos_NHL) June 27, 2025
pic.twitter.com/tNAI1Sw6Gm
While it’s unclear whether or not the Islanders will continue to ship off any integral roster pieces, Schaefer will now be the Islanders’ foundational piece on the blueline instead of Dobson.
Schaefer joins 2024 first-round pick Cole Eiserman and 2022 fourth-rounder Isaiah George as the team’s top prospects of the future, with potentially two more first-round additions to be made to the team’s pipeline in this year’s draft.
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