Schaefer (6-foot-2, 186 pounds), who has been the projected No. 1 pick in the 2025 draft all season, had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) and a plus-21 rating in 17 games with the Otters this season.

Schaefer, a wiry 17-year-old defenseman standing 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, heads into the draft as the consensus top prospect, having edged out center Michael Misa through force of personality and a tour de force of an injury-shortened season.

LOS ANGELES – Mathieu Darche had nothing to do with the Islanders winning the NHL Draft Lottery despite just a 3.5% chance to do so, as that happened almost three weeks before he was hired as general manager/executive vice president on May 23.