NY Islanders select defenseman Matthew Schaefer first in 2025 NHL draft

The New York Islanders made defenseman Matthew Schaefer the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL draft Friday.

The 17-year-old Schaefer is 6-foot-2 and from Hamilton, Ontario. 

He spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters. 

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Matthew Schaefer was selected as the first overall pick by the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2025 NHL draft at Peacock Theater.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Schaefer only played 17 games last year before breaking his collarbone in December, but his acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards.

Schaefer is just the fifth defenseman drafted No. 1 overall in the NHL draft since 2000, and the first since Owen Power went to Buffalo in 2021.

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Matthew Schaefer was selected as the first overall pick by the New York Islanders in the first round of the 2025 NHL draft at Peacock Theater.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this milestone. Schaefer’s mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago, and he endured the recent deaths of the Otters’ owner, Jim Waters, and the mother of his billet family.

When Schaefer pulled on his Islanders sweater for the first time, he kissed the pink ribbon patch on the chest representing breast cancer awareness before breaking into tears.

The San Jose Sharks pick second, and the Chicago Blackhawks go third in the newly decentralized draft at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

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Matthew Schaefer was selected by the New York Islandsers as the first overall pick of the 2025 NHL draft at Peacock Theater.  (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)

The Islanders won the lottery to pick first in a draft packed with talent.

There was no absolute lock of a No. 1 pick in this field, although Schaefer clearly came out on top. 

The draft also lacked the centralized format that has long been a staple of this annual exercise. The 32 teams’ various executives are mostly at home, not on the draft floor at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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