The New York Islanders defied the odds on Monday and came out with the first-overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The team will have their choice of a top prospect, whether it’s Matthew Schaefer, James Hagens, or Michael Misa, at the event from June 27-28.
Islanders Deep Dive: Who To Take At No. 1
The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders" target="_blank">New York Islanders</a> have won the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery and will pick first overall for the first time since 2009.
However, a large portion of their victory may have been due to their performance against the New York Rangers.
MSG Networks’ Eric Hornick observed that had the Islanders earned a single regulation win against them, the Rangers would have had the first overall pick.
In that situation, the Islanders would finish with 84 points on the season and the Rangers at 83, and that one point makes a world of difference in a Draft Lottery.
The Islanders' season series against the Rangers was one to forget, with the Islanders getting swept aside in four meetings. The games were also relatively lopsided, with the Rangers getting 5-2, 5-1, and 4-0 wins in the first three games. In the finale on April 10, the Rangers picked up a 9-2 rout at UBS Arena.
The Rangers’ scenario is not the only one that significantly impacted the Draft Lottery results.
The same could be said about the Pittsburgh Penguins, who had 82 points to finish the year. The Islanders went 3-1-0 against them this year, with several games being tightly contested. They had the tiebreaker by virtue of regulation wins (28 vs. 24).
However, the Islanders made comebacks in the bookend games, overcoming a 3-1 deficit in the opener on Nov. 5 and a 2-0 hole on March 16. Pittsburgh got a point out of the first game, losing 4-3 in a shootout, but the loss in March is even more vital. Had the Penguins held on, the teams could have switched places to give Pittsburgh the hold of first overall.
Regardless, the Islanders’ wins and losses against either team loomed larger than anticipated. Had either one gone differently, another Metropolitan Division rival could’ve emerged as the top choice, but in this timeline, it’s the Islanders who have those rights.
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Matthew Page wrote this story.