Matthew Schaefer wasn't going to the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft without his mother close to his heart.

Heading into Friday’s 2025 NHL Draft, there wasn’t much of a secret around what the New York Islanders would do with the No.

Emotional because he'll be thinking of his mom every step of the way. The 17-year-old defenseman of Erie of the Ontario Hockey League lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer in February 2024, two ...