The new York Icelanders will have the first choice in total during the NHL Upper Deck 2025, after winning the recovery lottery on Monday.
The Icelanders, who had the best probabilities of winning the lottery (3.5%), will recover in the first row for the fifth time, the first since they selected center John Tavares in 2009.
“It’s incredible,” exclaimed the chief screening Ken Morrow. The 13th (last figure in the winning combination) is in a way the lucky figure of the evening. The gods of hockey made us a favor. I cannot put in words how I am excited for supporters of the Icelanders and for the entire organization.
“We add to the culture that Icelanders develop. A beautiful partisan base, a new arena, a competent direction and of fine days to come. »»
The UTAH hockey club (38-31-13), which ended in 19th in the NHL general classification, won the second draw and will speak fourth in the draft, advancing 10 rows.
“It’s an incredible moment that we have not yet gained,” said the director general of the Utah hockey club Bill Armstrong. “When we are going to sit Tuesday, we are going to watch our list and we will see if we can put our hands, we will be very excited. Usually you get to the lottery and almost nothing moves. Sometimes you fall with a row.
“This is one of the beautiful moments of the young story of our concession. »»
The draft will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The first round will be held on June 27 (7 p.m. HE; TVAS, SN, ESPN, ESPN+), while rounds 2 to 7 will take place the next day (Midi HE; SN, SN1, NHLN, ESPN+).
The lottery, which was carried out live on television in the studios of NHL Network in Secaucus, in New Jersey, established the order of the first 16 choices for the teams which did not qualify for the series of the Stanley Cup.
Only the first two choices are determined by the lottery. The rest of the teams were classified according to the reverse order of the general classification. Choices 17 to 32 will be determined by the result of the playoffs.
The Icelanders (35-35-12), which finished 23rd in the NHL, could use the first choice in total to get their hands on the defender Matthew Schaefer (6 feet 2 inches, 183 pounds), Otters d’Erie in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Schaefer is first on the final list of North American skaters from the NHL Central Central Screen Bureau.
He was operated on December 30 after suffering from the collarbone three days earlier by playing with Canada in the World Junior Championship of the FIHG 2025 in Ottawa. He also missed the first nine games of the season due to mononucleosis. He scored 22 points (seven goals, 15 aids) and held a differential of +21 in 17 games.
If the Icelanders choose Schaefer, he will be the first Erie player to be drafted at the first step since Connor McDavid by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
“I know that our team of scientists is very excited and that it will be ready to make this choice,” said Morrow. I lived several moments of frenzy in my career, but it is probably at the top. »»
Another candidate to be drafted in the front row is Michael Misa (6-1, 184), a center with the Spirit of Saginaw. He won the Eddie-Powers trophy as the best OHL pointer, ending the regular season with 134 points (62 goals, 72 helps). He is second on the final list of North American skaters.
« [Misa] is a talented player; He has just experienced a record year, “said Sharks General Manager Mike Grier, who should speak in the second in the draft. “I always have to be open to anything that can make us better. If someone puts an offer for the second choice, we will have to think about it and check if it is for us. I always try to keep my mind open. »»
The center of Boston College James Hagens (5-11, 177) is third on the list of North American skaters. He finished with 37 points (11 goals, 26 helps) in 37 games this season.
The Jake O’Brien Center (6-2, 172), from Brantford Bulldogs (OHL), is fourth on the list. His rating has climbed all the season, as was that of the Czech defender Radim Mrtka (6-6, 207), of the Seattle Thunderbirds in the Western Hockey League, which is fifth.
Porter Martone (6-3, 208) remains one of the best players in this year, especially for a team looking for a power attacker. Brampton’s Steelheads captain, ranked sixth on the final list, finished seventh in the OHL with 98 points (37 goals, 61 assists) in 57 regular season games.
The two best players on the final list of international skaters of the central screening office could also be drafted in the Top-8: the Anton Frondell center (1st) and the right winger Victor Eklund (2nd), from Djurgarden to the Swedish second division.
