Good Morning, Islanders Country.
First, thank you to all who listened to Monday night’s post-draft lottery win Quick Fix podcast with Chris Botta and me. It rose all the way to No. 3 on the Apple Hockey podcast charts, amongst some of the biggest shows in hockey, which are on much larger platforms. You are awesome.
I’m not embarrassed to say how many times, as a man in his early 40s, I rewatched a ping pong ball with the number 13 on it being pulled from a lottery machine on Tuesday. It was that awesome a moment, and judging by all the social media clips (including those packaged by the NHL), my reaction was close to the norm.
The day after, it’s sinking in just how much the calculus has changed for the Islanders in a matter of weeks. If Brock Nelson agrees to Lou Lamoriello’s contract extension offer, the Islanders may be searching for a new GM without Calum Ritchie, a 2026 1st round pick, and the No. 1 pick overall in the 2025 Draft.
Let that sink in.
This has been a franchise-altering sequence of events with more to come.
We suspect Islanders ownership will name a new President of Hockey Operations in the coming days. With great assets comes great responsibility. The Islanders' turnaround still won’t be easy, but it’s been made easier, meaning that expectations are growing, but so is excitement, and that’s something that wasn’t guaranteed or even likely two months ago. It’s a brave new Isles world.
Let’s dive in.
Is Ken Holland the Right Fit?
Another Hall of Famer could be on deck to lead the Islanders.
The Islanders' front office is at a crossroads. With Lou Lamoriello not having his contract renewed, speculation is heating up that Ken Holland, a fellow Hockey Hall of Famer, is the leading candidate to take over as GM, especially after the team’s surprise draft lottery win.
Holland recently stepped down in Edmonton and shares a deep personal and professional connection with Lamoriello. Both built championship teams in the pre-cap era and are known for structure, culture, and discipline. However, with the NHL now driven by data, innovation, and modern front offices, bringing in another old-school architect raises questions.
The big picture:
Holland’s track record is impressive, but mixed in the cap era.
He’s respected league-wide and could help build a more robust hockey operations department, which the Islanders currently lack.
If the goal is modernization, hiring Holland may only work if he’s paired with younger, progressive voices beneath him.
Holland may feel like Lamoriello 2.0—but for a franchise seeking stability and credibility while evolving behind the scenes, that might not be such a bad thing.
Sizing Them Up
For the New York Post, beat writer Ethan Sears spoke to scouts to get insight on a trio of top prospects: Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, and James Hagens.
Here is what the Director of Scouting for McKeeen’s Hockey had to say about Schaefer, one of the youngest draft-eligible players in 2025:
“He’s an absolutely fantastic skater. We’re talking on that Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes level of skating ability, which obviously gives you an outstanding foundation to work off,” Brock Otten, the director of scouting for McKeen’s Hockey. “He’s also an outstanding thinker, really high hockey IQ. … You look at the mobility, look at the IQ, look at his focus and maturity off the ice and those three things really help to mold him into a really standout player on both ends.”
For more on Schaefer, I recommend reading this heartbreaking story about how the 17-year-old lost his Mom to cancer and his billet mother in the United States.
There’s this short video:
📚 SOUND SMART: According to Greg Picker, the Islanders moving from 10 to 1 is the biggest jump for a team to 1st overall in NHL Draft Lottery history. From its inception in 1995 until 2014, teams couldn’t move more than four spots. The biggest jump ever was PHI from 13 to 2 in 2017.
🎥 ISLES REWIND: On May 7, 1983, Mike Bossy carried the three-time defending champion Islanders back to the Stanley Cup Final by scoring four goals in a series-clinching 8-4 victory against the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum in Game 6 of the Wales Conference Final.
The win set up a highly anticipated matchup between the three-time defending champs and the upstart Edmonton Oilers. 'I think the hockey world wanted these two teams to play each other because they are young, great hockey teams,' said Bossy. 'People thought that would make a good match.'
🎧 Islanders Anxiety: He is a Billy Joel Song “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.”
🔗 The NY Islanders need to make the smart decision and select Matthew Schaefer with the first overall pick by Mike Stahurski, Eyes on Isles “The NY Islanders are on the clock with the first pick of the 2025 NHL Draft. A decision that could alter the future of the franchise, the organization led by a new general manager yet to be named, will do its due diligence to make the best decision possible. While weeks of hard work and research will go into draft prep, the Islanders should not overthink the pick and select the best player available, which is Matthew Schaefer.
🔗 LI's Hagens brothers hoping for an Islanders future by Ben Dickson, Newsday “James Hagens recognized that you never know what is going to happen on Draft Day. But it would certainly be a dream for the Hauppauge kid, who had a John Tavares jersey and still has a picture of the former Islanders star on his wall, to play for the team he grew up rooting for.”
And we leave you with this…Cole Eiserman and Team USA (and maybe New York Islanders future teammate) James Hagens in a Get To Know The Team Episode
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