Matthew Schaefer is a member of the New York Islanders.
The club selected the 17-year-old defenceman from the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters with the first pick at the 2025 NHL draft on Friday.
Schaefer had been viewed as the slam-dunk top selection for months, despite not playing since December after suffering a broken collar bone while suiting up for Canada at the world junior hockey championship.
His big moment just steps from Crypto.com Arena — home of the Los Angeles Kings — was also tinged with a level of sadness.
The teenager’s mother, Jennifer, died of breast cancer in February 2024.
“I miss her a lot,” Schaefer said on stage after being greeted by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “I wish she could be here.”
His mother’s passing came three months after his billet mom was struck and killed by a train, in what was ruled death by suicide.
Schaefer then was rocked during the world juniors when mentor and Otters owner Jim Waters died of a heart attack in December.
The six-foot-two, 186-pound blueliner from Hamilton, with elite skill at both ends of the rink, joins an organization that was busy in the hours before calling his name first inside the Peacock Theater.
According to multiple reports, the Islanders traded defenceman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for forward Emil Heineman and the 16th and 17th overall picks.
The San Jose Sharks took forward Michael Misa second overall.
Once the hands-down presumptive first pick in 2025, the six-foot-one, 182-pound centre from Oakville, Ont., led the entire Canadian Hockey League in goals (62) and points (134) in 2024-25, playing for the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit.
Chicago Blackhawks drafted Swedish centre Anton Frondell third overall, while the Utah Mammoth selected Caleb Desnoyers from the Moncton Wildcats fourth overall.
The 2025 showcase event marks the NHL’s first decentralized draft in a non-pandemic environment — a format similar to the NFL and NBA where teams make selections remotely instead of all being in the same venue on-site.
No decision has been made on how the draft will look next year, but deputy commissioner Bill Daly said earlier Friday the vote in favour of decentralization among teams this time around was 26-6.
The Vancouver Canucks own the highest selection among Canadian clubs at No. 15. The draft continues Saturday with rounds two through seven.
