Islanders feel 'the future is now' with No. 1 pick in 2025 NHL Draft

LOS ANGELES -- New York Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecky is as energetic as he is honest about the importance of Friday night and the lasting impact this one moment could have on the franchise.

"The future is now for the New York Islanders," Ledecky said Wednesday following the NHL Board of Governors meeting.

The Islanders hold the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft, which begins Friday with the first round at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). They are expected to select 17-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer from Erie of the Ontario Hockey League.

Schaefer is No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters. He was limited to 17 games this season because of a fractured clavicle sustained while playing for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship on Dec. 27.

It's the fifth time the Islanders have had the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft, following 1972 (Billy Harris), 1973 (Denis Potvin), 2000 (Rick DiPietro) and 2009 (John Tavares).

New Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said Tuesday that the team will not trade the No. 1 pick.

"We're extremely excited about putting together a team that gets younger and faster and exciting," Ledecky said. "I think the fan base wants to see that, and this is the first step."

Ledecky also spoke about the marketing possibilities available to the Islanders with the No. 1 pick. The team's marketing scope was limited under former GM Lou Lamoriello.

"It's going to be a new day in that respect and I think Mathieu supports that, which is the most important thing," Ledecky said. "You need to have the support of your hockey operations people in that regard and Mathieu understands how that works."

To that end, Ledecky said he was flying home soon after the BOG meeting to help set up and participate in the Islanders’ draft party, which will take place at UBS Arena on Friday and feature current players Ryan Pulock, Casey Cizikas, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Scott Mayfield.

He said the Islanders have had 10,000 fans RSVP that they are coming to the draft party. They are expected to hear from the No. 1 pick.

"I think it reignites the excitement we had back in 2009," Ledecky said. "When you look back at the excitement of the (Nassau) Coliseum that day, we're trying to replicate that at UBS Arena on Friday. For the fan base, it's, ‘Here we go.’ Islanders fans are incredibly passionate and this was a big win for them. The reaction has been positive in all aspects of our business from it. It's a new beginning for a traditional, wonderful franchise."

There is also a small possibility the Islanders could add to the excitement of Friday night and the importance of this draft by acquiring another first-round pick to potentially select center James Hagens.

Hagens was born and raised on Long Island in Hauppauge, New York, and grew up an Islanders fan. The 18-year-old had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games as a freshman at Boston College this season.

Hagens is No. 3 in Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters, after Schaefer and center Michael Misa of Saginaw in the OHL.

"I'm looking at everything," Darche said. "You want to move into the top 10, what does it cost you? If I feel the opportunity warrants that trade, I'll try it."

Islanders fans clearly would love to see it happen. You can see posters and bumper stickers on cars across Long Island with the slogan "BRING HAGENS HOME" written in bold orange-and-blue letters. The 'O' in HOME is an Islanders logo.

"That's beyond the ownership purview in terms of it's a hockey operations decision," Ledecky said. "I think anytime you have a local player, and we've had a lot of great players from Long Island over the years, it's exciting. It's exciting for the hometown to see a person be talked about as a first-round draft pick. I think back to Adam Fox, who is a lovely guy. We had a chance to visit with him while he was thinking about coming into the NHL and he apologized because he said, 'My father is a Rangers fan, he even calls into the radio show, so it's going to be hard for me to accept a situation with the New York Islanders.'

"But in the case of the player you're mentioning I love the fact that he was an Islanders fan growing up and I think that passion that he's going to bring for whatever team he plays for, that passion for wanting to be an NHL player, is fantastic."

Even if they don't get Hagens too, having the No. 1 pick and a chance, in all likelihood, to select a player who could be a franchise defenseman, is enough to make this weekend one of the most important for the Islanders in at least the 16 years since they selected Tavares.

"The future is now," Ledecky said. "That's the logo and we're excited about that. You don't look backward, you move forward in anything you do in life. Any successful business continues to move forward, and that's what we're doing."