Mathieu Darche’s phone doesn’t stop ringing as he prepares for his first NHL draft as general manager of the New York Islanders. Although the calls are constant, he is clear about one thing: they will not trade the first pick, which is expected to be defenseman Matthew Schaefer on Friday.
Darche added: “I can’t tell you all my secrets… We all know the talent by now. We are investigating more the character and the personalities. We are trying to get as much information as possible. There are some players we like, and I have an idea at the moment, because it’s in four days. But we are going to continue doing our due diligence until Friday.” It is expected that Schaefer and a couple of centers, Canadian Michael Misa and Swede Anton Frondell, will be the first three to be selected. Darche commented on Schaefer: “He’s an impressive young man. He’s a great player. He’s a great person. But that said, there are many other guys in the draft that we met who are very impressive. That’s why I say that, regardless of who we choose on Friday, we will get a special player who will help the New York Islanders quite quickly.” With Long Island native James Hagens also in the running as a likely top-10 pick, there has been much speculation about whether the Islanders will make a trade to get back into the first half of the first round and obtain both players.I’m not going to negotiate the number 1 selection, but we analyze everything, right? Teams call us with various options. Every time you hear that something could be happening, you call a team, and my job is to do my due diligence and see what’s available. Every day, I try to improve the New York Islanders.
Mathieu Darche
I’m analyzing everything. If I feel the opportunity justifies that exchange, I’ll try… Whether it’s moving up in the draft with another selection, acquiring another selection, or trading another selection to get a player, I’m considering all options to improve our team.
Mathieu DarcheHagens grew up in Hauppauge and used to go to the Nassau Coliseum when he was a child. He still has the towel from his first playoff game, and his friends, who are Islanders fans, were excited to see them win the draft lottery to get the first pick. Although it seems less and less likely that Hagens will be the best prospect in this draft, that hasn’t stopped people in the New York area from supporting him for Darche to select him. Hagens has had people approach him on the golf course and recently saw a sticker that said: “Bring Hagens home”.Hagens, a 5-foot-11 center, was a one-point-per-game player during his freshman season at Boston College.It was great. Moments like that put a smile on your face.
Hagens
