The New York Islanders left the 2025 NHL Entry Draft with Matthew Schaefer and a great draft class. It was a no-fail scenario for general manager (GM) Mathieu Darche, who had the top pick and took the best player. Yet, there’s a feeling of disappointment following the draft weekend. The first defining moment of Darche’s tenure was the weekend, and it will probably stand out throughout his GM career.
Related: Islanders Trading Noah Dobson Wasn’t Ideal, But Had to Happen
This reaction is because of the Noah Dobson trade. Yes, the deal had to happen, with Dobson and the Islanders far apart on an extension and the player wanting out. Now that the trade was made, Darche can move forward with the retool or rebuild, depending on the direction he wants to take. The deal itself wasn’t a bad one, as Darche received a haul in return. The process, however, was.
Darche Making the Dobson Trade Too Early
There were plenty of teams interested in acquiring Dobson. The team with the most pieces to move was the Montreal Canadiens, and that’s why they got him. Darche didn’t wait to make the trade, and with a team like the Canadiens, the best strategy would be to do so. Darche could have made his selections, noticed which needs had to be addressed, target young NHL-ready prospects like Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher, and Emil Heineman (who was part of the trade), and a 2026 first-round pick if he waited.
Instead, the Islanders moved Dobson before the draft and landed the 16th and 17th picks, plus Heineman. The thought after making this trade was that Darche would use the two picks to move up and draft James Hagens. This would give the Islanders two prospects with star potential from this draft, with one of them being a hometown favorite.
The problem is that once Darche made this trade, every GM knew what his next move was, or what he wanted to do at least. The teams with the top seven selections were all locked into their picks, knowing which prospects they wanted, and unless an overwhelming deal came from Darche, they weren’t budging. And that’s how the draft played out, with Hagens sliding to the seventh pick, where the Boston Bruins grabbed him.
If Darche found a way to trade Dobson and end up with Hagens, it would be a win for the Islanders and their draft weekend. Even if they made a deal after the draft and found a way to grab two NHL-ready prospects instead of one, the deal would have been a win. Instead, he showed his hand too early and was left with neither of those things. He didn’t come away from the weekend as the loser, but certainly not the winner either.
Islanders Still Get a Good Draft Haul
The picks were still put to good use, and the credit goes to Darche for putting together an impressive draft. The Islanders took Schaefer, who is in line to replace Dobson eventually, and then some. Then, the 16th and 17th picks were used to select Victor Eklund, a forward who many projected to be a top 10 pick and fell into the Islanders’ lap, and Kashawn Aitcheson, another defenseman to add to the system.
Prospects are hit-or-miss, making it too early to declare the Islanders winners of the draft. Yet, the first round alone gave a team that needed help in their prospect pool both quality and quantity. In a few years, the Dobson trade, paired with the Brock Nelson trade, can be seen as what kickstarted a dynasty. With Calum Ritchie, Schaefer, Eklund, and Aitcheson in the system, four players who weren’t a few months back, the Islanders suddenly have a great prospect pool on the way.
Darche’s impressive run didn’t just stop in the first round. He selected four forwards in the subsequent rounds, including Daniil Prokhorov and Luca Romano, two skaters who can become middle-six forwards in a few seasons if developed correctly. That’s the bet Darche is making, that he can develop the prospects, especially from this class, into NHL regulars, with the top selections turning into stars. All the pressure is on him to do so after trading Dobson, yet this haul can be the turning point for a franchise that was slowly declining under the previous GM, Lou Lamoriello.
How Darche Must Gain Back Fans’ Trust
The Dobson trade signals that the Islanders aren’t making a push for the playoffs. They are either retooling and taking their medicine next season and will come back stronger in the 2026-27 season, or they are starting to rebuild and move on from the Lamoriello era entirely. If the second option is the path Darche is taking, he should lean into it and trade Jean-Gabriel Pageau for more future assets.
If the Islanders are making a push for the playoffs, Darche must prove otherwise. Dobson made them a team capable of getting into the playoffs, and without him, they have a void on their blue line that can leave them at the bottom of the Atlantic Division. If Darche wants the Islanders to be a competitive team next season, the moves must reflect that.
With the Dobson trade, the Islanders suddenly have plenty of salary cap space and must use it. Darche can re-sign Alexander Romanov and the other restricted free agents (RFAs) and still have room to bring in an elite talent. This is a free agency class where Darche can sign a top-six forward, and the Islanders are once again a competitive team. Now, he must do that to prove that the Dobson trade was a win and not something he’ll regret in a few seasons.
