The New York Islanders officially have the No. 1 overall selection in the 2025 NHL Draft under contract.
Matthew Schaefer signed his three-year, entry-level deal with the club on Monday, and the Islanders went all out to make the occasion memorable for their new top prospect.
In a video the team posted to X on Monday, 20 kids who have lost a parent were brought into the Islanders locker room to meet Schaefer. Before being drafted, Schaefer tragically lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer, and his junior hockey billet mother, Emily, to an apparent suicide.
Unbeknownst to Schaefer, the children weren’t just invited to have a fun meet and greet; they were also there to surprise him with his ready-to-sign contract.
“I think you know you are going to meet Matthew as part of the day,” Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche said as he greeted the families at UBS Arena. “What’s going to be more exciting today, too, is that you’re going to help me sign Matthew to his first contract.”
After entering the room, Schaefer immediately took the opportunity to offer words of support to each kid and signed autographs.
“It’s never going to be easy, but I guarantee you when you guys are playing baseball, she always has a front row seat to every game you play,” he said with an encouraging smile. “She’s the umpire calling out strike, strike.”
Darche then called up one last boy named Cole, who was holding a manila envelope, looking for Schaefer’s John Hancock.
“We have one more person who wants to get something signed,” Darche said coyly. “Cole, I’ll let you do your thing.”
“On behalf of the New York Islanders – it was kind of tough with your agent, but we got the job done,” Cole joked to Schaefer, handing him the contract.
Schaefer put pen to paper, shaking Darche’s and Cole’s hands to seal the deal.
“That’s official. Welcome to the Islanders,” Darche said as the room erupted in applause.
Schaefer’s big day wasn’t over after that, though. He took a trip to Citi Field in Queens to throw out the first pitch at the New York Mets’ game against the Cleveland Guardians.
While at the game, Schaefer met with Mets outfielder Brandon Nimmo, who gifted him a pink baseball bat, symbolizing breast cancer awareness, and exchanged jerseys.
Schaefer played the 2024-25 season with the OHL’s Erie Otters, logging 22 points (7 goals, 15 assists) in 17 games played. He was the first player selected first overall from Erie since Connor McDavid in 2015.
The Ontario native had his draft year cut short after fracturing his collarbone while playing for Canada at the 2025 World Junior Championship. Schaefer was cleared for contact on May 1 and was a full participant at the Islanders’ development camp in July.
