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The 2025 NHL Draft No. 1 pick is in, and it’s Matthew Schaefer.
The New York Islanders started Friday night’s festivities in Los Angeles at the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft after selecting Schaefer via winning the draft lottery. The 17-year-old was seen in tears wearing his new orange and blue jersey on the stage of the Peacock Theater.
Those tears were of happiness and, at the same time, sadness of a deep personal loss. Schaefer’s mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago and was not in the room with Schaefer on this very important day of his life.
In a video call via “the Draft House” Schaeffer kissed the pink ribbon patch on the chest of his new Islanders jersey and thanked the front office of his new franchise.
“I appreciate you taking a chance on me,” Schaefer said live on-air. “I promise I won’t disappoint, but especially I just want to say to my mom and all my family and friends, thanks for everything.”
NHL Fans Welcome Matthew Schaefer With Open Arms
Fans of any sports league are legitimately excited about the No. 1 pick, but Schaefer’s story is quickly warming the hearts of NHL fans.
“Hard not to root for this kid. Going to be a star,” one fan wrote with over 125 likes across Twitter/X.
“His mom upstairs must be proud,” another said.
“Man- that ribbon got me,” one fan wrote across social media.
“What a moment. I hope he has a great career,” another said.
This is just a fantastic moment. Rangers fan here, but hope this kid has a terrific career.
— Matt Infante (@MattInfante) June 27, 2025
“Get ready to have an illustrious career – Matthew Schaefer,” a fan wrote.
“Markets love comps, but there’s no metric for heart. Schaefer lost his mom to cancer, captained Team Canada to gold at Hlinka, then becomes 1st overall showing real emotion. Numbers didn’t capture that intangible leadership when everyone had Thompson ranked higher,” one fan noted.
Who Is Matthew Schaefer?
Unsurprisingly, Schaefer was taken at No. 1. It was widely speculated that the Islanders and Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Mathieu Darche would select the defenseman from Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.
Standing at 6’2” and weighing 186 pounds, the Islanders’ newest star produced 22 points (7-15-22) in just 17 games, continuing to showcase elite skating, vision, and two-way poise this past year.
He’s known for controlling the flow of play from the back end, rushing the puck with poise and bringing a modern style of defense to the ice.
In short, Schaefer is all it takes to be the league’s next biggest star, and he’s got the backstory to back up all the motivation in the world.
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