Have you ever heard how the month of March supposedly comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb? Well, it’s not just March that does that. While The NHL’s annual Entry Draft doesn’t always follow that rule, it did in 2025.

Friday morning, hours before the first round got underway, the New York Islanders traded their Number One defenseman, Noah Dobson, to the Montreal Canadiens for picks number 16 and 17 in the first round of the draft and forward Emil Heineman. As part of the deal, which was considered a sign-and-trade, Dobson agreed to an eight-year extension with an AAV of $9.5M. 

Then, while that was going on, The League and The NHLPA announced they had agreed in principle to a new CBA that will go into effect after the 2025-2026 season. But that’s a story for another day.

Getting back to the draft, the Islanders, holding the first overall pick, as well as the two they received from Montreal, were poised to control the early portion of the night. As expected, they used the first overall selection to draft defenseman Matthew Schaeffer from the OHL’s Erie Otters. 

The 6-2, 185 lbs lefty D-man will have every opportunity to make the team out of camp and was also the author of one of the night’s most emotional moments. Upon hearing Commissioner Gary Bettman call his name as the Islanders’ selection and walking to the stage, after receiving his jersey, Schaeffer was overcome with emotions due to the passing of his mother from cancer in 2024. The Islanders placed a cancer support logo on his jersey and placed his mother’s initials on the jersey’s collar. 

The kid handled himself extremely well throughout the night and is already an easy person for the notoriously fickle Islanders fans to root for. 

The Isles were then expected to try and package the two picks they received from Montreal to trade back into the Top-10 in order to select Long Island native, James Hagens, a center at Boston College. While GM Mathieu Darche admitted at the end of the night that he tried multiple times to make that happen, no trade came to fruition and Hagens was instead selected by the Boston Bruins with the seventh overall pick.

So, with the 16th and 17th picks in hand, the Islanders then selected left-wing Victor Ekland and lefty defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson. Both players were originally thought to be Top-12 prospects, so their slight slide worked out in the Isles’ favor. 

Other than that, it was a quiet night for the locals as the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers did not possess any first-round picks due to trading them away for other players during the season. 

Oh, one last note on the first round of the draft, can we please find a way to speed things up? There’s no reason, especially in a decentralized setting, that it should have taken four hours and 28 minutes to make 32 selections. 

Now, onto Day Two and Rounds Two through Seven. 

The Devils entered the day with seven picks. Here’s who they selected:

Conrad Fondrk, Center, (2nd Rd, 50th)

Ben Kevan, Right Wing, (2nd Rd, 63rd)

Mason Moe, Center, (3rd Rd, 90th)

Trenten Bennett, Goalie, (4th Rd, 99th)

Gustav Hillstrom, Center, (4th Rd, 114th)

David Rozsival, Right Wing, (6th Rd, 161st)

Sigge Holmgren, Defense, (6th Rd, 178th)

According to Devils’ Chief Scout Mark Dennehy, “If you look at who plays coming out of the draft, more often than not, the highest percentage is first-round guys and that’s because they’re ahead of their peers at that age. That’s really where the difference is defined.”

However, since New Jersey didn’t have any first-round picks, they had to do a deeper dive on their selections. 

“I wouldn’t say taking a flyer, as much as it is taking a big swing,” Dennehy explained. “Taking Conrad Fondrk, Ben Kevan and Mason Moe, those aren’t flyers as much as they are big swings. These are guys who we think have a high ceiling. It’s just room to grow, right? Very few of these guys are prepared to play in The NHL next year. And so, if that’s the case, then do they have room to grow? Are they willing to put in the work and can they bridge that gap? The answer for all these guys, but those three guys in particular, is we think they do. We think they have space and we think they have a willingness and we think that they’ll be in situations where they can.”

The Rangers entered the day with eight picks. Here’s who they selected:

Malcolm Spence, Left Wing, (2nd Rd, 43rd)

Sean Barnhill, Defense, (3rd Rd, 70th)

Artyom Gonchar, Defense, (3rd Rd, 89th)

Mikkel Eriksen, Center, (4th Rd, 111th)

Zeb Lindgren, Defense, (5th Rd, 139th)

Samuel Jung, Right Wing, (6th Rd, 166th)

Evan Passmore, Defense, (6th Rd, 171st)

No. 203 Felix Färhammar, Defense, (7th Rd, 203rd)

Without a first-round pick thanks to their trade for J.T. Miller, Blueshirts’ GM Chris Drury was left to try and find some diamonds in the rough. And while it will take a few years to know whether or not he succeeded, most draft analysts are not being kind to the Rangers in regards to their selections.

According to The Athletic’s prospect and draft guru, Corey Pronman, “Malcolm Spence’s stock faded hard this season with his performance in Erie after coming into the year as a potential top-20 pick. I still like him. The offense will likely never be noteworthy, but he skates well, plays hard and could have secondary production. He has a clear path to becoming a middle-six winger. I don’t see any other pick in this group that excites me, although I am intrigued by Sean Barnhill, who they picked after Spence. He’s very toolsy, and I wonder how he will do in an environment with more ice time.”

And lastly, after a stellar first round, the Islanders entered Day Two with six more picks. Here’s who they selected:

Daniil Prokhorov, Right Wing, (2nd Rd, 42nd)

Luca Romano, Center, (3rd Rd, 74th)

Tomas Poletin, Left Wing, (4th Rd, 106th)

Sam Laurila, Defense, (5th Rd, 138th)

Burke Hood, Goalie, (6th Rd, 170th)

Jacob Kvasnicka, Right Wing, (7th Rd, 202nd)

According to Pronman, “Day Two of the NHL Draft was always going to be gravy for the Islanders. Rookie GM Mathieu Darche had already made his mark on Day 1 by wheeling and dealing his way to three selections in the top 17 – a haul that added two of the top defensemen prospects to the team’s pool.”

Pronman continued by stating, “Danil Prokhorov, Luca Romano, and Tomas Poletin will infuse the Islanders system with a mix of skill and grit.” (Editor’s note – Prokhorov is very raw, and Sam Laurila has some two-way ability.)

So, an infusion of top defensive talent, plus a mix of skill and grit. Sure seems like the Islanders and their new General Manager managed to ace this first test. Of course, for the official results, only time will tell. 

Okay, that’s a wrap on the 2025 NHL Entry Draft for our three local teams. Now on to Free Agency, which opens Tuesday, July 1st at 12pm(ET).