New general manager Mathieu Darche hammered home the fact that his New York Islanders will not be trading their No. 1 overall pick at the 2025 NHL Draft on Friday night in Los Angeles, which all but cements them taking highly-touted 17-year-old defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
“He’s an impressive young man,” Darche said. “That’s all I can say. You guys have seen him… he’s a hell of a player, a great person. But having said that, there were a lot of other kids at the draft [combine] that we met that were impressive.”
Consider this Darche’s way of playing coy, as he did not want to give away “all of my secrets.”
“We have an idea at this point [of who we’re taking No. 1], but we’ll keep debating it til the end, keep calling around and getting as much info,” Darche said. “Part of the job at one point, because we all know the talent at this point, you’re researching more on the character and personalities, and you’re just trying to get as much information. There’s a few guys we like.”
“We do have an idea because it’s in four days, but we’re going to keep doing our due diligence all the way through Friday.”
Perhaps because Darche likes multiple prospects, the Islanders could trade up for another top-10 pick. Rumors have swirled in recent days that the Boston Bruins had been in talks for the No. 7 overall pick, but at this point, it has been more speculation than anything.
Regardless, Darche is not ruling out trading up to potentially draft another top prospect, most notably Long Island native James Hagens, who has made it clear that he wants to play for his boyhood team more than anything.
“I’m looking at everything. If I have an opportunity… it depends. Do you want to move into the top 10? What does it cost you? So if I feel the opportunity warrants that trade, I’ll try it, or if it’s an opportunity to do something else, whether it’s moving up in the draft with another pick… whether it’s trading another pick to get a player, I’m looking at all options for our team.”
