By Tyler Fennell
Staff Writer
The New York Islanders had a very disappointing 2024-25 season. However, with smart selling at the trade deadline, the Islanders had set themselves up for a solid offseason. Two major pieces of news have turned the future of this team around completely: the letting go of their president of hockey operations and general manager, Lou Lamoriello, and winning the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery.
New York needs to find a general manager or POHO before any draft selections are made. The current candidates, according to Arthur Staple, per The Athletic, are Marc Bergevin, Mathieu Darche and Rob Blake.
The more interesting conundrum is who they will take with the first overall pick, or if they will even keep it. The three contenders for the first overall selection before the lottery would have all been based on the need of the team drafting rather than the best player available. However, unlike the San Jose Sharks, who have a clear-cut need at defense, New York seems to have needs everywhere except goaltending.
Their most glaring flaw, however, would be the need for a true puck-moving defenseman. The Islanders do have Noah Dobson, but with rumors of him being dealt at the deadline, and him being a pending restricted free agent, his future on Long Island is not set in stone.
A real possibility is that Dobson is moved in a package to a team like San Jose, which cannot guarantee the current top-ranked defenseman prospect in this draft, Matthew Schaefer, in exchange for San Jose’s second overall pick. This would give the Islanders the top two picks in the draft.
If this happens, the Islanders should take Matthew Schaefer and one of Michael Misa or James Hagens. Hagens grew up an Islanders fan and grew up on Long Island, and his being a consensus top-three pick only helps with this situation.
However, the Islanders trading for another top pick is still unlikely. The truth is, this draft is a complete wild card, with the gap in talent between the top five prospects being so close, it is hard to tell who they will take first overall.
In terms of their needs, they need a player like Schaefer. If they extend Dobson, a pair of Dobson and Schaefer would be one of the best offensive-defenseman pairs in the league.
Another possibility is that the Islanders trade down and accumulate more assets. They were not expected to draft first overall; if they traded down to 3 or 4, they would still have the opportunity to select Hagens.
A dream scenario for an Islanders fan would be to keep the first overall pick and select Schaefer, trade Dobson to San Jose or Chicago, and take either Hagens or Misa (whoever the front office thinks is better).
