Islanders make Schaefer No. 1 pick in NHL draft

LOS ANGELES -- The New York Islanders selected gifted defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft Friday night.

The Islanders surprised nobody by using their first No. 1 selection since 2009 on the 17-year-old Schaefer, a 6-foot-2 blueliner from Hamilton, Ontario, who spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League's Erie Otters. He played only 17 games last season -- collecting seven goals and 22 points -- before breaking his collarbone in December, but Schaefer's acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards.

An elite puck-mover and brilliant skater with a top-end, two-way transition game, Schaefer has great poise, posture and edges that allow him to not only carry play from end to end but close quickly on opponents, shut down the rush and be a playmaker in his own right.

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.

Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this milestone. His mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago. 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.

This year's draft lacks the centralized structure that has long been a staple; the 32 teams' various executives are mostly at home, not strewn across the draft floor at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

But the players chosen in the first round Friday still will take the stage to cheers from their families and hockey fans before they begin their careers.

The San Jose Sharks have the No. 2 overall pick, while the Chicago Blackhawks are third. The Utah Mammoth and the Nashville Predators round out the top five.

ESPN's Kristen Shilton and The Associated Press contributed to this report.