New York had 10th-best chance to win top pick
Take a look at the first ever live draft lottery
The New York Islanders have the No. 1 pick in the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft after winning the NHL Draft Lottery on Monday.
The Islanders, who at 3.5 percent had the 10th-best chance of winning the lottery, would pick No. 1 for the fifth time and the first since selecting center John Tavares in the 2009 NHL Draft. They also took goalie Rick DiPietro first in 2000, defenseman Denis Potvin in 1973 and forward Billy Harris in 1972.
The dramatic ending to gaining the No. 1 pick came on the last of the four-ball sequence of the first draw. The Islanders needed No. 13, and got it.
“This is incredible. I guess it’s lucky No. 13 right now, right?” Islanders director of pro scouting Ken Morrow said. “The hockey gods smiled on us, and I can’t tell you how thrilled I am for Islander fans, for our ownership, for the entire Islander organization.
“It’s adding to the tradition that the Islanders have, a great fan base, a new arena, terrific ownership, and better days are ahead here.”
NHL Tonight talks about the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery
The San Jose Sharks, who at 18.5 percent had the best chance of winning the lottery, have the No. 2 pick. The Chicago Blackhawks have the No. 3 selection, and the Utah Hockey Club have the No. 4 pick after winning the second draw and moving up 10 spots.
“It’s just an amazing moment and it really hasn’t sunk in, to be honest with you,” Utah general manager Bill Armstrong said. “I think when we get down to doing some work [on Tuesday], looking at the list and what we might be able to get, it’s going to really get exciting for us. But normally you sit in these things and sometimes nobody moves, you go home unhappy or you get bumped down a spot.
“But we’ll never forget this moment. This is truly a great moment in the franchise.”
The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be June 27 (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), with rounds 2-7 on June 28 (Noon ET; NHLN, ESPN+, SN, SN1).
The lottery, which was held live on television at the offices of NHL Network in Secaucus, New Jersey, set the order of selection for the first 16 picks for the teams that failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Only the two top picks were determined by the lottery. The remaining teams were slotted in by the order of their finish in the standings. Picks 17-32 will be determined by the results of the playoffs.
New York (35-35-12), which finished 23rd in the NHL, could use the No. 1 pick to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer (6-foot-2, 183 pounds) of Erie of the Ontario Hockey League. He is No. 1 on NHL Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters.
Schaefer had surgery Dec. 30 after sustaining a broken clavicle three days earlier while playing for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship in Ottawa. He also missed the opening nine games of the season because of mononucleosis. He had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) and a plus-21 rating in 17 games.
If the Islanders decide to select Schaefer, he’ll be the first player from Erie to go No. 1 in the NHL draft since Connor McDavid was chosen by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
“I know our amateur scouting staff is going to be very excited and prepared to make this selection,” Morrow said. “I can’t tell you … I’ve had a lot of thrills in my hockey life but this is right up there at the top.”
In addition to planning what to do with the No. 1 pick, the Islanders will need a new general manager. At the end of the regular season, New York did not renew the contract of Lou Lamoriello, who served as president/GM of the Islanders for seven seasons.
The Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention with a 4-3 shootout loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on April 12. They finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division, and 31st on the power play (12.6 percent) and penalty kill (72.2 percent).
Other options for the top pick are Michael Misa (6-1, 184), a center with Saginaw of the OHL. He is the first player in team history to win the Eddie Powers Trophy as the top scorer in the OHL after finishing the regular season with 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games. He’s No. 2 on Central Scouting’s final ranking of North American skaters.
“[Misa] is a talented player, he had a record-breaking type year,” San Jose GM Mike Grier said. “I always have to be open to anything that we think can make us a better hockey team and a better organization. And if there’s a package out there that someone presents us with, we’ll have to think it through and see if it makes sense for us. I’m always trying to be open-minded to things like that.”
Sharks get second pick and Utah Hockey Club claim No. 4 pick in 2025 NHL Entry Draft
The Sharks won the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery and chose center Macklin Celebrini with the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Celebrini is a finalist for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year.
The Blackhawks, who picked center Connor Bedard with the No. 1 selection in the 2023 NHL Draft, moved to No. 3 after having the second-best odds to win the No. 1 pick.
“Third overall … we’re going to get a great player,” Chicago GM Kyle Davidson said. “I’m excited to head into meetings next week with our amateur group and start the process of nailing down where we want to line up the board and what it looks like. I think we stayed in a good range where I think we’re going to be really excited with what we end up with.”
Boston College center James Hagens (5-10, 177) is No. 3 on Central Scouting’s final rankings of North American skaters. He finished with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists) in 37 games this season.
Additionally, center Jake O’Brien (6-2, 172) of Brantford (OHL) is No. 4 on Central Scouting’s list. He’s been trending positively all season, as has Czechia-born defenseman Radim Mrtka (6-6, 207) of Seattle in the Western Hockey League. Mrtka is No. 5.
“It’s a good draft,” Armstrong said. “I think when you’re picking up top, you get a chance to get a real game-changer, a top-two line guy that can be a difference-maker on your team. You still have to pick well. You still got to be a savvy staff that gets down to business and ignores all the critics, all the hype. I think our staff’s done an amazing job over the years at just kind of ignoring all the noise and getting down to hockey players. You probably saw that when we picked Logan Cooley (No. 3 in the 2022 draft). There was a lot of hype about a lot of different players, and we just stuck to our guns and drafted what we thought was the best player in the draft.”
Porter Martone (6-3, 208) remains one of the top players for this year’s draft for an NHL team seeking a power forward with good finish around the net. The Brampton captain, No. 6 on Central Scouting’s final North American rankings of skaters, finished seventh in the OHL with 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 regular-season games.
The two top players on Central Scouting’s final ranking of International skaters also could be chosen among the top eight selections: center Anton Frondell and right wing Victor Eklund, each of Djurgarden in Sweden’s second division. Frondell is No. 1, and Eklund is No. 2 on Central Scouting’s list of International skaters.
1. New York Islanders
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Chicago Blackhawks
4. Utah Hockey Club
5. Nashville Predators
6. Philadelphia Flyers
7. Boston Bruins
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. Pittsburgh Penguins
12. New York Rangers
13. Detroit Red Wings
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Vancouver Canucks
16. Montreal Canadiens (via Calgary Flames)
