New York Islanders win the NHL
draft lottery, securing the No. 1 selection. Sharks will pick second
[May 06, 2025]
By JOHN WAWROW
New York Islanders pro scouting director Ken Morrow knows a thing or
two about so-called hockey miracles.
Witnessing the Islanders win the NHL draft lottery on Monday and
vault nine other teams in the order for the right to have the No. 1
pick represented yet another memorable moment for the four-time
Stanley Cup champion and member of the 1980 gold-medal-winning
“Miracle on Ice” U.S. Olympic team.
“I’ve had a lot of thrills in my hockey life, but this is right up
there at the top,” Morrow said. “The hockey gods smiled on us. I
can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islanders fans, for our
ownership, for the entire Islanders organization.”
The Islanders, who missed the playoffs for the second time in four
seasons, are in the midst of a front-office shakeup after not
renewing general manager Lou Lamoriello’s contract on April 22. And
they earned a remarkable lottery win by entering the day with a 3.5%
shot — the 10th-best odds — of seeing their numbers come up.
New York wasn't the only team to buck the lottery odds. The Utah
Hockey Club won the second round of the lottery, and made the jump
from 14th to fourth under the rules limiting teams from moving up no
more than 10 spots in the draft order.
“A couple of seconds ago, we were just like 10 back, so it still
hasn’t sunk in,” Utah GM Bill Armstrong said of a first-year
franchise that finished just seven points out of a playoff spot.
“This is an exciting moment for us. It’s a game-changer for us.”
The San Jose Sharks will pick second after entering the day with the
best odds, 18.5%, to win the lottery and a 25.5% chance of landing
the No. 1 choice. San Jose, which finished last for a second
consecutive year, was seeking to become the NHL’s first team to win
the lottery and pick first in consecutive years.
“We definitely lucked it out last year to be able to select Mac,”
Sharks GM Mike Grier said in referring to selecting Boston
University center Macklin Celebrini first overall. “This year would
have obviously been nice to have the pick and have the choice of all
the players. But picking two, we’re still in a pretty good spot so
we’re happy.”
The Chicago Blackhawks had the second-best chances to win the
lottery and will pick third. The remaining 12 teams moved two spots
back in the order, starting with Nashville dropping from third to
fifth. The final 16 draft spots will be determined following the
playoffs.
The Islanders have the right to pick first for the fifth time in
team history, and first since selecting John Tavares with the No. 1
choice in 2009.
This year’s draft will be held in Los Angeles with the first round
taking place on June 27, followed by the final six rounds the next
day. Top prospects will convene for the weeklong predraft combine
being held in Buffalo next month.
The prospect pool is not considered as deep at the top as last
year’s class, or next year’s group, with Canadian junior forward
Gavin McKenna long regarded as the No. 1 candidate.
[to top of second column] |
Canada's Matthew Schaefer, right, battles for the puck with
Switzerland's Basile Sansonnens, second right, and Eric Schneller
(26) during the third period of an IIHF World Junior Hockey
Championship pre-tournament game in Ottawa, Ontario,, Dec. 19, 2024.
(Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer is NHL
Central Scouting’s top-ranked North American prospect followed by
OHL Saginaw center Michael Misa and Boston College center James
Hagens, the top-ranked U.S. born prospect. Hagens is from Long
Island and grew up an Islanders fan.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Schaefer
maintained his No. 1 position despite missing the final three months
of the season after breaking his right collarbone representing
Canada at the world junior championships in December.
Schaefer has the potential of becoming only the fifth defenseman
selected No. 1 since 2000, and first since Buffalo chose Owen Power
in 2021. And he also has the chance of being the first OHL player to
go No. 1 since Edmonton drafted Erie’s Connor McDavid in 2015.
The top-ranked international skaters are center Anton Frondell and
right wing Victor Eklund, who are teammates with Djurgarden of
Sweden’s second division league.
New York’s jump from 10th to first is the biggest involving a team
winning the No. 1 selection. And it comes after the last-place team
won the lottery to retain the first pick in four of the past five
years and 12 times overall since the NHL launched the format in
1995.
The New York Rangers enjoyed the previous largest move up to No. 1
in 2020, when they were grouped among eight teams — ranked eighth to
15th — with the same odds to win the lottery after being eliminated
in the COVID-altered play-in round of the expanded 24-team playoff
format.
The lottery was held at the NHL Network studios in New Jersey, and
conducted live for the first time in the event’s 30-year history.
Previously, the lottery was held shortly before the broadcast in
front of a limited audience of sequestered observers, followed by
the draft selections being revealed in reverse order.
___
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP sports writer Josh Dubow
contributed to this story.
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