Let’s not overthink this.
Holy shit. The Islanders won the draft lottery and Mike and Dan know exactly what they need to do (Draft grifters and prospect perverts be damned).
Despite having a 3.5% chance of winning and no general manager in place, the Islanders walked out of the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery with the first overall pick in this season’s draft. As Isles legend Ken Morrow – a man who only knows winning – looked on over a video call, his team got an instant ticket to erase the nonstop weirdness of this season from Hell. And of the available players at the top of this year’s draft lists – including big defenseman Matthew Schaefer and Saginaw forward Michael Misa – only one is from Long Island and grew up a die hard Islanders fan.
Boston College forward James Hagens should be the Islanders pick in June. This is an opportunity that comes around exactly never for this franchise. Being able to take a kid that already knows the team and its history should supersede whatever the grifters and talking heads have on their lists. If he doesn’t work out, then he doesn’t work out. But not taking him and seeing him succeed elsewhere would be worse than taking him and seeing him fail at home on his favorite team.
In the second half, we discuss the other weirdness of the day, including the governor of New York being mad that the 2026 All Star Game at UBS Arena won’t be an actual All Star Game, and the Kings saying good bye to their GM, which might impact the Islanders’ search for one.
Monday had the feeling of a momentous day in Islanders history. Only time will tell which way it went.
To support Brian Compton in the Walk MS: Long Island 2025 on May 17, click here.
REFERENCES
- Yes, it really happened.
- Art Staple on the many ways this can go.
- Some behind the scenes on how the actual lottery went down.
- One Patrick Roy Avalanche teammate is now out of a job.
- Could a different Patrick Roy Avalanche teammate make his way to Long Island?
- Meanwhile, the Governor Hochul expressed her disappointment at how next year’s All Star Game at UBS Arena will not be an All Star Game.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul sent this open letter to Gary Bettman today regarding the NHL replacing the 2026 ASG at UBS with an Olympic kickoff event.
TLDR: She’s not happy. pic.twitter.com/sWgLezpEO2
— Ethan Sears (@ethan_sears) May 5, 2025
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