The New York Islanders shockingly won the first overall pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL draft. The team will now have the opportunity to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer from Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.
On Thursday, the entire NHL got a big injury update on Schaefer ahead of the draft process. Schaefer suffered a broken clavicle while playing for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa.
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The defenseman missed 46 games, including nine postseason contests. But he has now been cleared, and this is massive news for NHL teams, especially the Islanders.
“I’m healed, I’m working out, I’m on the ice, so everything’s amazing, which is good,” Schaefer told NHL.com. “I’ve been definitely dying to come back. During the OHL playoffs, I started skating again and was doing morning skates, and it was so good to just get back on the ice with the guys. I’m clear [to play] now and everything’s feeling good.”
Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer controls the puck against the Sarnia Sting at Erie Insurance Arena in Erie on Oct. 21, 2023GREG WOHLFORD/ERIE TIMES-NEWS-USA TODAY NETWORK
Schaefer is seen by many as the projected No. 1 overall pick, and the Islanders could be getting a game-changer with him. This past season, the defenseman scored seven goals and 15 assists over 17 games played.
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Schaefer also returned before the postseason ended, but Erie fell short of advancing far enough to get him back on the ice.
“I was hoping,” Schaefer said. “I mean, obviously, I just got to listen to what the doctors say. Obviously, if it was my decision, I would have been in Game 1 of the playoffs, but my shoulder wasn’t ready, so it wouldn’t have been smart. If the doctors said I was able to, I would have been right in there.”
The NHL draft will take place in Los Angeles at Peacock Theater on June 27-28.
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