Islanders would be ‘shocked’ to trade No. 1 draft pick, new GM says

BUFFALO -- Mathieu Darche said he would be "shocked" if the New York Islanders aren’t the first to pick at the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft later this month, but what name they call is still a mystery.

"I expect to speak No. 1 on June 27," the new general manager said Tuesday during the NHL Scouting Combine. "You've got to be open to everything, but I'd be shocked if we're not the one speaking first.

“When (NHL Commissioner) Gary (Bettman) announces the first pick, I'd be shocked if it's not the New York Islanders."

Darche, who was hired May 23 after spending the previous six seasons with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is using this week at the combine getting to know the Islanders amateur scouts as well as the prospects available.

"There's a lot of good players," Darche said. "We're meeting them this week. The thing I know is, I'm going to end up with a great player that hopefully plays on the island for a long time. So, I'm not worried about the first pick. I think there's a lot of good players to pick from, and we'll make a decision in a few weeks."

The first round of the draft will be held June 27 at L.A. Live's Peacock Theater in Los Angeles (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS). Darche said at his introductory press conference at UBS Arena on May 29 he has every intention to make the No. 1 selection.

"It's not very often you get a (GM) job and the first thing you have to do is pick the best player in the draft," Darche said. "I expect us to make the pick. … You have to do your due diligence. Anybody that calls, you have to listen. But someone would have to really knock my socks off to trade that pick because we're going to get a special player."

Among them is defenseman Matthew Schaefer of Erie of the Ontario Hockey League, who is No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters.

The 17-year-old defenseman 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. Schaefer is fully healed and will be taking part in most of the fitness testing Saturday.

Schaefer had dinner with Darche and Islanders staff Monday and interviewed with the team Tuesday.

"There's a lot of good players in this draft," Darche said. "Some names are talked more than others, but there's other very good players. Matthew, obviously, is an elite defenseman. Leadership, character is impressive. He can play both sides of the ice. He's a great skater.

“There's a lot of good attributes there that any team would be lucky to have."

Other options could include Saginaw (OHL) center Michael Misa and Boston College center James Hagens, who are Nos. 2 and 3, respectively, on Central Scouting's final ranking.

Hagens was born and raised on Long Island in Hauppauge, New York, and grew up an Islanders fan. Darche said he's familiar with Hagens, who had 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games as a college freshman this season, but said New York is committed to taking the best player available.

"We have to do our due diligence on all the players, wherever they're from, and we'll make the best choice that we feel at that moment," Darche said.

Whoever the Islanders select, Darche said there's no need to rush that player into the NHL lineup.

However, only two players selected with the No. 1 pick since 2005 did not start in the NHL the following season: Erik Johnson, selected by the St. Louis Blues at the 2006 NHL Draft, made his debut in 2007-08; Owen Power, chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2021 NHL Draft, joined them at the end of the 2021-22 season after his college season at the University of Michigan ended.

"The way the player shows up at camp and the way he practices, I don't have my mind set on one or the other," Darche said. "At the end of the day, it's the performance that's going to say if the player should be on Long Island or go back wherever he was playing. We're drafting a player we want to play a long time. It's not about now. Maybe the player stays with the Islanders all year; that's going to be determined.

"There's still, between now and the start of the season, four months. So, a lot of things can happen in four months, so we're just going through the process. We're going to draft a very good player, a special player, and we'll go from there."

NHL.com managing editor Brian Compton contributed to this report