Los Angeles – This past week was the anticipated 2025 NHL Draft. Sports fans, of all different sports, are nothing short of excited when draft season rolls around. The murmurs and rumblings of who will be picked first is a huge topic.
If you follow along with the NHL, you know that the New York Islanders had the first pick in this year’s draft. The last time the Islanders had the first pick of the draft was in 2009, and they selected John Tavares who went on to become a huge franchise player for 9 years. It was no shock when the Islanders selected Matthew Schaefer to be their first pick this year. Schaefer is a phenomenal player, and at such a young age of 17, shows that skills do not need to come with age. A heart warming moment during this selection was when Schaefer put on the jersey to his new team, revealing he already had a ribbon embroidered onto the jersey for his late mother who pasted due to her battle with cancer.
Speaking of heart warming moments, there were no dry eyes in the audience when the Columbus Blue Jackets first round picks were selected. The team had Meredith Gaudreau, the widow of one of the late Gaudreau brothers Johnny, announce the picks. 10 months ago, the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau were ripped away from them, leaving holes in the teams they played for and their families’ lives. The brothers were murdered by a drunk driver while out for a bike ride the morning of their sister’s wedding. Meredith was overwhelmed by the love and support shown to her, not only by the Blue Jackets organization, but from the audience who chanted “Johnny” when she stepped onto the stage.
It was a big night for goaltenders as 2 were picked in the first round of this year’s draft. One being the 20th pick from the Columbus Blue Jackets with Pyotr Andreyanov. The other was the 30th pick from the San Jose Sharks with Joshua Ravensbergen. Goalies being chosen within the first round has been a little controversial for whatever reason, but it was the first time in 4 years that a goaltender was selected in the first round, let alone two of them.
The rest of the draft went well with each team adding new assets to their teams to hopefully make them Stanley Cup contenders for this year’s upcoming 2025-26 season. Fans are excited to see what the offseason brings in contracts and free agencies being prominent and right around the corner. As always though, the big thought after the 2025 draft that is on each fans mind currently is if their team will be in the Stanley Cup Finals next year or not.
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