Maybe not a committee but an example would be l like LA had Bergeron, Robitaille and Blake, having 3 people gives you the tie breaker on decision making.
- kindlyrick

Heard Bergy had the inside track the other day.
Wouldn’t surprise me if you get an announcement soon.

Well I don't like the sound of:

This timeline also seems to lessen the chances that a fresher face — either a younger assistant GM or someone outside the current NHL team structure — would have a shot. That’s how it seemed when the process began, and it seems more true now, even though no one’s been hired yet.

And if they hire Peter Chiarelli, in any fashion, my (frank)ing head will explode
- Gabe Athaus

I think I would cancel my season tickets!

Gary Bettman saying they’re now televising the 1st and 2nd drawings because they wanted to share the excitement with the fans lol. I call bs. Too many people questioned the secrecy and for good reason.

Does anyone know the correlation between the 4 ping pong ball combo and each respective teams chances of winning? Why is this so complicated?

Wow. lol. Isles won the first baby

Wow. lol. Isles won the first baby
- kindlyrick

Love it !!!!!!!

Hagens coming. A Smithtown boy?

What a night!!!!!

Wow. lol. Isles won the first baby
- kindlyrick

Holy crap

Love it !!!!!!!

Hagens coming. A Smithtown boy?
- nyisles7

I can’t believe it. I mean I can, but wow 3.5% chance to win. I still don’t understand the 4 digit numbers and how they correlate to each team but I couldn’t care less right now. Wow

Holy crap
- Cptmjl

Gary did the right thing. Lol

Love it !!!!!!!

Hagens coming. A Smithtown boy?
- nyisles7

Id take Schafer or misa lol

It's because they lost the all star game

It's because they lost the all star game
- Upstate_isles

New conspiracy theory

Wow. lol. Isles won the first baby
- kindlyrick

Kenny brings more luck to the Islanders. Cannot fire him now.

New conspiracy theory
- Cptmjl

This . Is. Awesome

New conspiracy theory
- Cptmjl

I’ll allow it. Gary is an Island fan.

This . Is. Awesome
- Upstate_isles

It’s incredible.

Profile
Schaefer, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 OHL draft, emerged as a front-runner to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft despite missing much of his draft year with mono to start it and then a broken collarbone suffered in the second game of the World Juniors (he didn't get back skating until March 13). Even with the shortened year, Schaefer impressed scouts so much over the last year and a half — domestically and especially internationally — that he put himself in the pole position. He regularly logged mid-20s minutes for Erie as a rookie last year. He led Canada White to gold at world under-17s as captain and a big-minutes player, pushing 30 per game when it mattered. He was impactful as an underager at U18 worlds in Finland. He was outstanding at Hlinka as Canada’s No. 1 defenseman and captain for a second time. In the 17 OHL games he did play between mono and the injury at the World Juniors, he was phenomenal for the Otters, making a number of highlight-reel, coast-to-coast plays. He was a standout at the two-game CHL-USA Prospects Challenge. He was a standout at the red-white scrimmages and his USports game in selection camp for the World Juniors, and when the puck dropped on the actual tournament, I thought he’d looked like Canada’s top D through three and a half periods before he got hurt. You get the point. Even with the lost time, the performances have really started to pile up. You won't hear scouts poking holes in his game, either.

When you consider that Schaefer was less than two weeks away from being eligible for the 2026 draft, and the maturity and smarts that already exist in his game, there’s a lot to get excited about. But it’s his brilliant, frankly incredible skating (he’s the best-skating D in the class) that really elevates his projection as a potential No. 1 D and two-way transition monster. He’s got great posture and glide. He’s a balanced and flowing skater with light edges and great posture on his heels skating backwards as well as his toes going forward. He’s mobile in all four directions. But his ability to fly north-south, transport pucks down ice, track back when he’s carried end-to-end, go back and get pucks, and catch guys defensively is elite. He also manages play in front of him. He’s got a good stick and an ability to close out on carriers, be disruptive and then advance and steer play down the ice. He’ll occasionally over-skate his gaps and close-outs and get beat one-on-one, but he recovers so effortlessly. His game is poised and efficient with the puck while also maintaining big play upside. He’s mature beyond his years in terms of reads and decision-making. He’s competitive and is, by all accounts, a great kid who leads by example. Schaefer looks like a projectable No. 1-2 defenseman who covers a ton of territory, can influence play in all four corners and three zones of the rink and is never in a bad spot because of his ability to flow and gallop across the ice.

Profile
Misa, the OHL’s eighth exceptional status player, drew headlines when he broke Connor McDavid’s OHL Cup scoring record with 20 points in seven games while playing up a year with the Mississauga Senators in what became his final year of minor hockey. He then followed that up with an impressive 15-year-old season in the OHL, missing 20 games after fracturing the top of his tibia in a knee-on-knee collision and still leading the Spirit in scoring. If not for the injury, he might have broken John Tavares’ exceptional status year scoring record of 77 points. Last season, in what should have been his rookie year in the OHL, he finished second to Zayne Parekh on the Spirit in regular-season scoring and finished the year with 91 points in 89 combined regular-season, playoff and Memorial Cup games on the would-be Memorial Cup champs. Two summers ago, he also played his way up Canada's lineup at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and registered eight points in five games as an underager (he skipped last summer’s tournament while dealing with some back tightness).

Entering this season, scouts wanted to really see him take charge more and take over as the guy for the Spirit and that’s exactly what he did, answering the questions some had of him with an emphatic draft year in which he led the league in scoring, was its top player basically from start to finish, and tied John Tavares for the most points by a U18 skater in the OHL since 2000 with 134 (in two fewer games than Tavares). I also thought he was one of the standouts of the CHL-USA Prospects Challenge. He didn’t have the same impact in Saginaw’s first-round sweep to Erie but he was also playing banged up for a second consecutive playoff run. A natural center coming up, Misa played mostly on the wing in his first two seasons but found another level in the move back to the middle this year, playing to nearly a goal per game and over two points per game.

Misa is a beautiful skater with some quiet explosiveness and a real knack for weaving, cutting, turning and spinning in control of the puck to either shake defenders under pressure in the offensive or defensive zone or slip past them in transition with his speed and agility. He’s also a very smart player who makes his linemates better with his playmaking, vision and ability to execute while tightly covered. Off the puck, he’s willing to track, stick with plays and compete (I’ve seen him sacrifice the body to block shots, etc.), hallmarks of his game in minor hockey that have also been more consistent this year — though I’d argue they were always present and he played a more well-rounded game last year than he was given credit for by some. He finishes his checks and has good defensive instincts on interceptions and support. He gets the puck a lot and then protects it beautifully. There are times when he’ll turn over pucks, or when I’d like to see him work to get open and glide less, but he has done a nice job cutting back on both of those this season and has been a top player in the OHL at five-on-five, on the penalty kill (where he leads the league in short-handed points), and on the power play.

Misa’s a slippery player in the offensive zone. He’s a weaving skater in transition and has developed more of a scorer’s mentality and started to look for his own looks more, using his natural curl-and-drag wrister more intentionally and getting to the guts of the home-plate area with more consistency. And there’s natural skill and playmaking layered in, which lights up when he gets the puck inside the offensive zone.

The move back to center really involved him in more plays and highlighted the value of his skating, which is most useful when he’s getting touches lower in the zone. He’s also now almost 6-foot-1 (up from 5-foot-11 in his exceptional status season). I projected his production to jump to the 90-to-100-point range in his draft year, and for him to climb back into the top-five mix, but he took it a step past that and showed some real star quality this year. He has a strong case to be the first player — and an even stronger one to be the first forward — picked in the draft and I strongly considered ranking him No. 1.

Read more in our feature here.

Profile
Hagens, after two years as the top dog at the NTDP and two record-setting international events at U17 and U18 worlds, entered this season as a front-runner to go No. 1. His draft year was good without being a star-making campaign, though. He played to a point per game as a freshman at BC and was a driver of positive results who often played over 20 minutes for the Eagles. At the World Juniors in Ottawa, he was also the No. 1 center on a gold medal-winning Team USA, leading their forwards in ice time (20:33), and was their fourth-leading scorer with nine points in seven games. I’m still very high on Hagens but some scouts wanted to see him score more and get to the net more than he did in college (there were a couple of games against bigger, older, heavier college teams where it hasn’t come as easily as it has against his peers). For a while, I thought he and Misa were neck-and-neck as the top forwards in the class, but I think a gap emerged as the season progressed. Still, Hagens is a top-five pick all day for me.

Hagens’ game is about skating and playmaking. He’s extremely breezy as a skater, making his patterns look easy out there. To use a hockey cliche, he’s on top of the ice, he’s agile and his stride and edges are dynamic, light, mobile and adjustable, with legitimate speed and quick acceleration through his crossovers and cuts (he often beats guys on angles and loses them on cutbacks). He’s got high-end touch and handling and real finesse as a passer or in playing pucks into space for himself. He’s very aware of spacing and timing on the ice and does a good job hitting his spots off the puck to present an option in motion to teammates as well as finding teammates when they’re open with his vision through layers. He’s got an impressive small-area game and an even more impressive game in open ice, with an ability to take his first touch and put opposing defenders on their heels when he gets the puck. He makes a lot happen in transition with his ability to flow up ice and make plays at pace, because the puck just sticks to his stick and he moves with control of rare quality. He’s got phenomenal dexterity and reflexes catching passes into his first touch. He’s crafty and has a game that mixes delays with one-on-one skill that pulls defenders in and then beats them. He’s got drive and wants to take charge on the ice. As soon as he gives it, he’s dashing to get open. He tries things and has the skill to pull off bold decisions when he makes them. His game has detail. He’s got some sneaky jam and competitiveness, with more of a willingness to put his nose in dirty areas than some scouts give him credit for, in my opinion. He’ll engage in battles. He’s an impressive athlete, with natural strength for 5-foot-10/11 that certainly isn’t overpowering but allows him to stay on pucks. He’ll also stand his ground post-whistle. He’s well-conditioned and doesn’t tire over the course of games or shifts. He’s slippery off the cycle and has a nifty release (I expect the goals will come next year). But it’s his combination of skating, skill and craft that defines him.

Hagens profiles as a top-of-the-lineup, play-creating center in the NHL with a similar profile to Utah’s Logan Cooley. I remain a big believer in him and his game.

Read more in our feature here.

New conspiracy theory
- Cptmjl

I love this conspiracy

What a night!!!!!
- keaner17

So…. Keaner who you taking Schaffer the D man?

Profile
Hagens, after two years as the top dog at the NTDP and two record-setting international events at U17 and U18 worlds, entered this season as a front-runner to go No. 1. His draft year was good without being a star-making campaign, though. He played to a point per game as a freshman at BC and was a driver of positive results who often played over 20 minutes for the Eagles. At the World Juniors in Ottawa, he was also the No. 1 center on a gold medal-winning Team USA, leading their forwards in ice time (20:33), and was their fourth-leading scorer with nine points in seven games. I’m still very high on Hagens but some scouts wanted to see him score more and get to the net more than he did in college (there were a couple of games against bigger, older, heavier college teams where it hasn’t come as easily as it has against his peers). For a while, I thought he and Misa were neck-and-neck as the top forwards in the class, but I think a gap emerged as the season progressed. Still, Hagens is a top-five pick all day for me.

Hagens’ game is about skating and playmaking. He’s extremely breezy as a skater, making his patterns look easy out there. To use a hockey cliche, he’s on top of the ice, he’s agile and his stride and edges are dynamic, light, mobile and adjustable, with legitimate speed and quick acceleration through his crossovers and cuts (he often beats guys on angles and loses them on cutbacks). He’s got high-end touch and handling and real finesse as a passer or in playing pucks into space for himself. He’s very aware of spacing and timing on the ice and does a good job hitting his spots off the puck to present an option in motion to teammates as well as finding teammates when they’re open with his vision through layers. He’s got an impressive small-area game and an even more impressive game in open ice, with an ability to take his first touch and put opposing defenders on their heels when he gets the puck. He makes a lot happen in transition with his ability to flow up ice and make plays at pace, because the puck just sticks to his stick and he moves with control of rare quality. He’s got phenomenal dexterity and reflexes catching passes into his first touch. He’s crafty and has a game that mixes delays with one-on-one skill that pulls defenders in and then beats them. He’s got drive and wants to take charge on the ice. As soon as he gives it, he’s dashing to get open. He tries things and has the skill to pull off bold decisions when he makes them. His game has detail. He’s got some sneaky jam and competitiveness, with more of a willingness to put his nose in dirty areas than some scouts give him credit for, in my opinion. He’ll engage in battles. He’s an impressive athlete, with natural strength for 5-foot-10/11 that certainly isn’t overpowering but allows him to stay on pucks. He’ll also stand his ground post-whistle. He’s well-conditioned and doesn’t tire over the course of games or shifts. He’s slippery off the cycle and has a nifty release (I expect the goals will come next year). But it’s his combination of skating, skill and craft that defines him.

Hagens profiles as a top-of-the-lineup, play-creating center in the NHL with a similar profile to Utah’s Logan Cooley. I remain a big believer in him and his game.

Read more in our feature here.
- Upstate_isles

Unpopular opinion...I like Misa better and will almost always side with a franchise dman. I'm not sure Schaefer is that guy,. Like everyone else, the next month will be about catching up on all three and building an opinion

Unpopular opinion...I like Misa better and will almost always side with a franchise dman. I'm not sure Schaefer is that guy,. Like everyone else, the next month will be about catching up on all three and building an opinion
- keaner17

I'm leaning towards misa but Schafer is a stud too

So…. Keaner who you taking Schaffer the D man?
- nyisles7

I always lean towards a cornerstone dman. Misa is also an impressive kid. The Hagens hometown connection is beautiful. This is going to be a fun month to form opinions