Future New York Islanders?? Schaefer & Hagens At NHL Draft Media Availability | New York Islanders

Future New York Islanders?? Schaefer & Hagens At NHL Draft Media Availability | New York Islanders

how’s it feel how’s it feel 24 hours out yeah it’s pretty cool uh you come down here feels real just exciting times though seeing all your friends so yeah once once tomorrow comes it’ll be really cool have you sort of settled in your mind like seeing what could play out like you know when you just close your eyes and think about what Friday night could be like it’s been so busy honestly not really yesterday uh I went to Upper Deck did a bunch of things and just a big travel day and I got here and I passed out when I got here i I had a really good sleep last night but the time change and stuff getting used to so no really haven’t haven’t thought about anything but just just enjoying it while I can if it is the Islanders have you been doing research on the organization do you feel like you’ve got a good handle of who they are and what they think of you yeah obviously you know you look at teams i know my major has a bunch of clients they’re Bo Horvat so you know you talk to them down the road a lot of people reached out when I lost you know my mom my bill of mom so yeah i uh I know they got a great group and they have a great organization you told us that you’ve been training with Pel this summer have you talked to him at all recently yeah I’ve actually I’ve been training there a bunch i haven’t got to see him too much cuz my schedule’s been super crazy with coming to the draft and everything but uh you know all summer I’ll be I’ll be working with him what do you know about you know living in New York and all that and and the pressures in New York is that Have you asked anything about that no I have not i I I mean I’ve been to New York once for a concert last summer it’s it’s pretty cool like um I was downtown actually so yeah I haven’t been to Long Island or anything but uh here it’s all really nice uh Morgan Wallen yeah so pretty pretty good country singer so I’m seeing him this summer so excited what’s it going to be like to hear your Yeah I mean everything it’s it’s every kid’s dream and especially mine you you worked so hard up to this point and to hear it it’s it’s obviously really cool but the work just starts now describe the first contact that you had with your GM yeah it was it was really cool he was a great guy i heard a lot of great things about him and obviously uh he met you know all the talks about him so I I’m really happy he got the GM job happy for him and yeah a lot of a lot of great stuff come for the organization what would it mean to you to be the first pick to be the Islanders first pick with you know being a defensive line organization yeah like I said it mean a lot i want to get drafted but I also want to be the best player it’s you know a thing that comes to your mind obviously you really can’t control anything now um you just got to enjoy the process and you showed everything you had all season and you had the combine you know to meet everyone and just be yourself so really you just enjoy the process and whatever happens happens the fact that you played only 21 games so far this year this season was there something that was like bothering you meaning of could cost me a couple of places at the draft or the fact that you didn’t play much not really when I was playing I was just playing putting my head down work boots on and going to work and obviously I left it all out there um maybe if I didn’t it would but no I honestly you know you play the game because you love it and you just work as hard as you can what’s it been like to have out here cuz I mean that was a bad brother about 30 I think yeah there’s there’s quite a bit a lot of cousins i got my best friend so yeah there’s a lot of people coming out and there’s a there’s a party back at home at a pub they’re doing so it’s filled it’s like you know it’s not crazy big but so many people are going so like okay we’ll squeeze everyone in quickly before so uh yeah no it’s super exciting you seem to be a competitor what’s it like what’s it been like to to just not play and wait for this for the last four or five months not fun at all like no hockey player doesn’t like playing hockey and watching gets a lot more stressful and you know I’m sitting there and I’m grabbing like you know the desk and like the chair I’m on and I’m rocking and I’m trying to stand still but I just want to be out there but honestly you just got to be a good teammate and help your team in any way possible and that’s what I try to do what was it like at the World Juniors obviously that was so disappointing and then seeing the team kind of fall off after you got hurt yeah it was I was very sad after and it wasn’t cuz I was in pain it was cuz I wanted to play for my team and my country it’s a big big thing going to play for the World Juniors i think I thought about it you know since I was a little kid and our our country came out to support us it was on home soil so you know to miss out of a tournament like that it’s not fun i mean obviously a lot worse things can happen but yeah you know if if I got to play in that tournament uh I would have tried to help my my team out in any way possible can you tell fans what they’re getting when they take you yeah i mean great singer and dancer no uh uh no on on the ice a 2-way defenseman uh that can play you know all over the ice power play penalty kill very competitive and loves to win off the ice I love to talk as you guys can tell uh I’m a leader but yeah honestly I you know the fans mean a lot to me and you know if they want autographs or anything which you know I don’t know why they would want one really but but you know if they do in pictures I love taking the time cuz they come out to support us so much years i’ll remember that comment back to you 10 years will you be able to be on ice Monday regardless of which team drafts you at the summer development game yeah I’ve been Yeah I’ve been uh skating working out for you know well the whole summer I’ll be a I’m fully cleared so yeah I’m able to do everything how much pride do you take in your defensive game i know last talked about your your mobility but just defensively yeah so I remember my first year in the OHL last year was uh I was it was more defensive and I didn’t show my offensive ability so everyone was questioning they got to see my defensive side and then I I showed my offensive side this this season a lot more so I think that really showed I can play you know both ways how’s your physical game in the defensive end yeah it’s good obviously I can improve you know in a lot of ways whether it’s you know physical game there’s always room to improve and I’m always looking to improve you say obviously defenseman take longer to develop does it maybe help you that you do have that defensive game already yeah for sure uh like I said I like to learn from a lot of guys mark Judeo is my D coach so you know just hearing from him he he’s been in the league a lot and he knows a lot so just hearing from him I I think will help me a lot you know when I come in the league you talk to him about Patrick yeah or not really i’ve honestly I I’ve sked with him a couple times and it’s just been a lot of you know stuff on the ice and honestly I like to pick his brain about his uh his you know route to the OHL and NHL and he didn’t get drafted in both but you know the work ethic he had he he puts his head down and he’s a great player one so it’s pretty cool to have that guy in the corner done your research on on Patrick yeah I well when I was at the upper deck office yesterday there’s a lot of you know signed stuff from him so it was pretty cool so yeah when you were out injured how much video work were you doing how were you how are you finding ways to get better when you couldn’t skate yeah whenever I was able to you know do a little bit more in the gym I was always doing it and obviously I had uh you know watch my boundaries and not overstep but I tried to tried to go as much as I could um without it hurting cuz I wanted to come back as soon as possible but yeah obviously I loved you know watching clips made from the World Juniors what I could have been done and like I said maybe not hit the net but uh uh there’s a lot of things you can really improve what do you think tomorrow’s going to be like just because it’s a different kind of draft i mean it’s not the in a big arena with you know thousands of fans it’s going to be what what have you been told what are you expecting to me a draft’s a draft so uh I know a lot of other people that have been to other drafts are you know saying that it’s going to be different but for me this is my first draft and I’m just looking forward to it how emotional you know will it be for you you know spoken about your mom and everything just just what will be on your mind tomorrow yeah obviously I wish you could be there i think that’s probably the biggest thing I’ll be thinking about uh when I hear my name called but I know she’ll be smiling down so yeah like I said I wish you can be there i know she’s with me in spirit uh I know my dad and brother will probably have some tears i I think I’m going to have some tears we’ll see though i mean I guess time will tell what do you think she’s going through what would she think of all this yeah I think she she’d be very happy i think she’d be crying as well so you know if maybe it starts to rain tomorrow she could be crying so uh but no yeah she she’s definitely have you know some some happy tears for sure but just all the days of me being able to shoot on her and everything uh you know back then left side or blocker side blocker side girl’s pretty good she’s pretty good like she she likes the windmills and exaggerated a bit but how did you get hooked up with Mark Gordano how did that sort of club play out yeah so I I work with up Brian Marshall he’s my he’s my trainer in Missaga and Mark Gordano trained with him and then he promised him that he’d be the D coach for all the guys so it was it was perfect i got a great trainer and a great you know D coach totally different what stood out to you how we all watch Mark Jod the player how’s Mark Jan the coach what does he focus on what does he like he cares about you so much and you know you can really go to any coach but he knows you know exactly there’s so much brains behind all his drills but he’s a great person and he wants me to you know do the best so he’s always pushed me to be better big shot blocker is he giving you some tips on that 100% 100% i want him to put on the equipment one day and teach me a couple things maybe blow me up a couple times or something so but no he’s he’s just been having you know just skates under no full equipment so maybe I’ll get him full one day is there anyone in the NHL that you try to model your game after or someone that you like to to look at and go I’d like to play like that yeah obviously a lot of different guys i want my game to be all around like Kar Hkin and those are two great guys to look at obviously you know if I pick Marino his D side of the game is like what I want to have i want to have that allaround game where when I’m in the D zone I’m shutting down when I’m in the O zone you know I’m dominating uh in the offensive zone so yeah there there’s a lot of things um you know that I want to improve and like I said I’m still working every day to you know better my game to the best and there’s always going to be things to improve on so yeah has has P told you anything about what it’s really like defending some of these guys in the NHL yeah he’s a great defenseman i honestly I haven’t gone into that much depth with him but I mean he’s told me a lot of great things and I mean he’s a great player so it’s pretty easy for him what have you learned about yourself through this entire process yeah um just to enjoy it like you know you face so much adversity in life and you really can’t control it you just got to enjoy it um you know you never want to waste time away um yeah I think the biggest thing is enjoy it and the process is is fun and long and you only go through one so Matthew what are you what are you most looking forward to experiencing Friday night i think the biggest thing just hearing hearing your name called it’s pretty cool and seeing all your friends names get called you play with them growing up you you win tournaments you play against them you hit each other you block their shots so um you remember a lot of memories and to see a lot of your friends and yourself to go it’s pretty cool but the work only starts what have you learned about uh James Hagens through this process yeah I mean great guy obviously I think you know not one guy is bad guy everyone’s you know super super amazing uh everyone’s super close you you get to meet each other over the years that I played against him in the U7 or under 18 tournament in Finland so uh yeah there is I mean I got to know him obviously I know a lot of the OHO guys better cuz I got to play against them better but yeah he’s a great guy when did it hit you that like you know what I’m pretty good at this world yeah you Well I mean you’re playing younger you playing with your friends you want to be with them and then you you start playing more and more and then you’re like “Ah maybe this could be you know like a full-time job kind of thing.” and you know maybe I want to go somewhere i It’s every kid’s dream to play in the NHL but then it becomes a little bit more real so yeah my for me I don’t really think about it too much but my brother and dad are like “Wow this is crazy.” I’m like “Yeah it’s you know it’s hockey right?” Like you go out there and play cuz you love it and you know if good things happen they happen but you just got to go out there and work hard but yeah it’s I mean nothing’s really kicked in too much right now cuz I don’t think about it like too much so uh I guarantee you tomorrow night though it for sure will have a lot of colleges hit you guys up beat you up just for um not not personally me maybe maybe my agent but you you know my goal is to be in the NHL so uh yeah I’ll just focus on that matt what are the folks at Erie meant to you over the last two years on and off the ice yeah they’ve done so much obviously with all the adversity I’ve went through they’ve had my back through it all uh Jim Waters my my uh owner that passed away and his wife Sheila Waters they’ve done you know everything for me to succeed they will do anything for me and they’re great people and I’d consider them family now so uh yeah they’ve done so much dave Brown the GM so yeah it’s uh it’s it’s been amazing there i’d love my time there and you know they’ve sent me out for success list of guys to go one in the O and one in the NHL what would that mean to you’d be you know one in the O and one in the show well Conor McDavid won it and fellow fellow Ari so he’s a great player so uh you know you look up to him you know be the person he is be be the player he is on and off the ice he loves winning so uh yeah you know to see him go through the organization and then you know get drafted first overall is pretty cool and you know a lot of guys I mean it’d be an honor so yeah you said that the process coming up to this was fun for you but how did you find fun being scrutinized that much you name in rankings being judged being analyzed that much how did you balance the two these two realities i mean you don’t think about it at the end of the day you like I said you enjoy the time you enjoy the time you get with your your friends i mean uh you’re with your family uh you might not be able to see them as much and you know you don’t take any day for granted so honestly I don’t look at the rankings or anything and that’s just all whatever i mean tomorrow night if you’re in name code then I think that’s pretty pretty true right so uh yeah honestly you just kind of zone it out and just enjoy your time no I mean you see them pop up but it’s like whatever like you know you you want to go just like work harder and harder cuz you know it’s not said and done till you know that Friday at the draft so um honestly it motivate motivates me if anything but yeah I I honestly just own it out man have you allowed yourself I know you’re busy with hockey to watch the teams or to to see how they play or to know something about the team yeah um yeah like I said I’ve heard a lot of a lot about the team board I know really well so uh yeah I honestly don’t watch hockey that much to be honest it’s for me I I love you know when I’m at the rink it’s all hockey when I’m away from it it’s you know going out for dinner with your teammates doing a lot of things away from the ring so you can get that you know mental refresh be a kid so so I honestly I I don’t watch hockey that much or sports in general i like playing it more than watching it video games too yeah like video video games that was more like a co thing when like all the guys are at home and like we’d hop on video games me and my brother playing over who’s going to play it so uh yeah that was your golf game sorry what game i NHL or Call of Duty probably sorry golf game yeah golf game it can get better it can get better like it’s all right i I’m working on I got new clubs i got to learn how to hit them so I’m happy I’m not bringing them to the golf thing today cuz I don’t know where they’d go probably in the trees if there’s any there or the water so hopefully I don’t lose too many balls today you talk about Bohor that’s what it means to be a teammate yeah it’ be awesome he’s he’s with my agency he’s been a great guy i mean I’ve heard so many great things about him and I heard he’s a great leader so you know to have that guy in her corner it would be amazing do you anticipate this being one of the most emotional nights of your life yeah I’d say so uh I I think my mom’s going to go right into my you know my head if when I get picked uh cuz you know I wish you could be here so yeah there’s definitely going to be a lot of things that you know play a part in it but it’s more happy tears than anything do you know like you know obviously a young kid going to big city what the support systems like plan on living with somebody you plan on bringing them do you know have you thought about that yeah obviously I think I’ll live with someone i know a lot of people out there i know my agent knows a lot of you know players in the past uh so yeah there there’s a lot of things that come to play but I think your support system has a big part and my family is super close and my dad will be traveling all over so he’s he’s retired so I’ll be going all over and I know my mom will be right by him so yeah you know your support system is huge and that’s from your family to your agents to your friends and you know you got to have that balance where oh maybe you have a bad day call your friends up you’ll have guys in a corner that will always um want you to be the best and they’ll always have regardless of which team takes you how do you convince that organization to keep an 18-year-old defense on the roster rather than you know get another year in juniors obviously if you go to camp you think you’re ready you obviously talk to them uh you know if they don’t think you’re ready I don’t think there’s much you don’t want to push it and then you know you’re not ready and it’s obviously it’s obviously a good conversation you have and if if I go into camp and you know I do really well and they go I think you’re ready then obviously that’s a conversation you have but honestly you just go out there work as hard as you can if you know you’re mature enough to you know be there I think it’s you know great decision so what’s your emotions like uh on your biggest day in your life right now yeah it’s excitement uh you wait for this moment your whole life and here it comes it’s it’s a really big moment you just have to soak it with uh your family and friends when you see signs or hear about signs how do you react it’s cool um it’s really special you don’t know what’s going to happen on draft day so it’s it’s something that you hear something you see that’s that’s really cool though what do you think of the change of the format would you have liked to walk down the stairs and go up to the stand and pick up a jersey yeah um I think that’d be really cool i’m not too sure the format is this year but um I love how we’re all here i’m I’m glad that we all are so I’m sure it’ll be still be really cool you you’ve spoken about you know how competitive you are your your desire to go number one however it shakes down tomorrow like is there going to be disappointment or just elation you know that he got picked i mean I don’t think he’s going to be disappointed and picked by any team here so it’s it’s an exciting time wherever you go you just want to be a place to watch it james have you talked to your other you know players just about hey where do you think you’re going oh am I going behind you am I going in front of you what’s going No I haven’t I haven’t really made those jokes or asked them that so we’ll see you on the golf course today how’s your game find out it’s not so pretty right now so how does the um the thought of of of possibly winding up as an animal what would that mean yeah it mean a lot so when you grow up something you took so much pride in as a kid and still to this day um it’d be really something that you know it’d be really cool being able to come home to to go back to where it all started it’d be special would it be a part of it now because you’ve been to the games yeah definitely i’ve been around it for my whole life it’s what kind of got me to love hockey so it’s it’s something that I know I’ I’d love did you have a favorite player Lona uh I love Taris i love Patrick Kane um growing up going to Isles games I loved Matt Martin as well he was he was someone that brought energy uh on the ice but your style of gamer right yeah definitely so close to it well the the Long Island guys who have made it before you were they any sort of a role model and and what is where you are sort of speak to you know where Long Island hockey is right now yeah I think my brother was honestly one of the biggest role models for me i think Tanner Adams as well was at Province they were two guys that I was a younger I was on the younger team i was I always wanted to be like my brother i wanted to play hockey like them i always wanted to play with them on their teams and those guys pushed me to be my best growing up every day and just being around them it was always competitive it was always I had to do a lot extra just to be right up there with them so being able to learn that and kind of you just grow up that way i’m really grateful for it have you been able to pick Cornado’s brain at all throughout this process yeah I’m good buddies with him so he just said you know this is a really cool moment obviously he he just signed a really big contract so he’s in a great spot he loves it he he said you know we just want to go to a spot that wants to speaking of uh speaking of picking guys brains a lot of BC guys that you played with are now in the show Ryan Leonard being one of them getting called up and he got to immediately join you know a competitive team with the Caps and the OB Chase and everything have you gotten a lean on him or Gabe or any of the other guys uh and and what have they told you about this experience yeah I was texting with Ryan yesterday um they’re both good buddies of mine Gabe and Ryan and Fells so just being able to you know stay in contact with those guys while they’re going through the process while they’re signing going to their games uh watching them talking to them it’s it’s a great relationship we all have um you know like I said before they just said you don’t know what’s going to happen it’s not like you’re the one picking um the pick so you know you just got to be ready for whatever team picks you did you get to go to his debut in Boston yeah I did and how was that experience it was really cool especially being able to see kind of him falling being along with OB breaking that record i mean and not many people could step into a team and and play in playoffs right away too so it was really cool it was a special moment and with the opportunity to be on potentially an Islander some of these other Metro teams at the top how excited are you to face some of your former teammates at the National Hockey League level i think that’s uh it’s one of the coolest things I’m I’m really excited for just being able to be back on the ice playing against them it could be it’d be really cool james when you when you think about we mentioned Long Island have you looked at the history of of some of the guys that have gone through the draft and the history and some of the guys have set the way for you yeah definitely uh just growing up being around hockey growing up watching the draft every year I think I’ve seen I’ve seen it all so what do you think you have to prove at the next level i know you have a lot of skill but what do you think you want to prove to teams yeah um anyone that you know really doubts my my hockey ability or or doesn’t think that you know you’re the best player in the draft it’s it comes on to you know stepping back on the ice and just being able to show it there there’s nothing you can do now um I know once I get back on the ice that’s the first thing I’m going to try to do somebody

Number one ranked prospect Matthew Schaefer and Long Island native James Hagen speak with the media a day before the NHL Draft. The New York Islanders were set to draft 10th but thanks to the lottery won the opportunity to draft #1 overall in the 2025 NHL Draft.

Catch all of the NHL Draft coverage as well as the Offseason Special on MSG Neworks and streaming on The Gotham Sports App! GothamSports.tv

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Future New York Islanders?? Schaefer & Hagens At NHL Draft Media Availability | New York Islanders