Knights have quiet night during slow first round of NHL draft

It didn’t matter if the New York Islanders were on or off the clock. They were the headliners on the first day of the NHL draft.

The Islanders did the expected, taking defenseman Matthew Schaefer from Erie of the Ontario Hockey League with the No. 1 overall pick Friday.

New York made the choice for the future of its blue line. The present saw a massive shake-up earlier in the day when the Islanders traded top defenseman Noah Dobson to the Montreal Canadiens for the 16th and 17th picks and forward Emil Heineman.

Montreal signed Dobson, who was a restricted free agent, to an eight-year, $76 million extension.

The Islanders did not use those picks to trade back into the top 10 and take Boston College forward, and Long Island native, James Hagens.

Hagens instead went No. 7 to the Boston Bruins with the pick announced by Happy Gilmore himself, actor Adam Sandler, wearing a Bruins sweater.

The Islanders took Swedish right wing Victor Eklund at No. 16 and Barrie (OHL) defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson at No. 17.

Other celebrities were brought on to announce selections, including WWE wrestler Bayley, pro golfer Tony Finau and former Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Brandon Graham.

That only added to what became a rather long night.

The draft moved to a decentralized format this year in which teams conducted draft business in their headquarters rather than from the draft floor.

What was meant to be a faster process turned into a bogged-down setup.

Teams were on the clock for three minutes, but it took nearly an hour to get through the first five picks.

ESPN also aired live conversations between the teams and their draft picks to add to the slow pace.

Quiet night for Knights

The Golden Knights chose to not join in that fun by not trading back into the first round. The Knights don’t have a first-round pick for the next two years after trades for center Tomas Hertl and defenseman Noah Hanifin.

There were also no trades involving current players, indicating action could pick up for rounds 2 through 7 on Saturday.

That’s when the Knights conducted most of their transactional business last year during the draft at Sphere with the trades of left wing Paul Cotter to the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Logan Thompson to the Washington Capitals.

It could still shape up to be an eventful day for the Knights in that department. There is the matter of restricted free agent defenseman Nic Hague and if his signing rights could be available.

It’s possible the Knights could be in the market for a defenseman if that comes to fruition, added to the unknown status of Alex Pietrangelo. Reports have linked the Knights to Bowen Byram of the Buffalo Sabres and Rasmus Andersson of the Calgary Flames in recent days.

Byram, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft, is a restricted free agent. Andersson, 28, has one year remaining on his contract with a $4.55 million cap hit.

The Knights have six selections on Day 2, beginning in the second round with the 58th overall pick.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.