Islanders 2025 Blue and White Scrimmage Notebook

Every New York Islander fan was thoroughly entertained on Wednesday night.

The Islanders hosted the 2025 Blue and White Scrimmage at Northwell Health Ice Center, where the passionate, boisterous standing-room only crowd cheered on the prospects in the first midsummer scrimmage in over five years.

“It was unbelievable, to hear all the fans cheer, those are all the things you miss in the middle of the summer,” said Danny Nelson, the Isles 2023 second-round pick. “To feel their support and encouragement was unbelievable.”

Team White won the scrimmage 4-0, shutting out Team Blue in a four-on-four contest over two, 20-minute periods. After the game, the fans were treated to a relay-style shootout, with the White Team edging out another win. The results didn’t matter in one of the rare scenarios where the only important thing was both teams having fun.

As far as the goal scorers, 2025 third-round pick Luca Romano’s tip-in goal broke open the scoring to give the White Team a 1-0 lead and Finley scored to make it 2-0.

Bayville native – and camp invite - Brandon Chabrier snuck one past the right foot of Danick Leroux for the third goal of the game for the White Team, while Calle Odelius contributed an empty-net goal to seal the deal.

SCHAEFER DIVES BACK INTO GAME ACTION

Matthew Schaefer had been itching to get to get back to game action for quite a while.

Getting back into a game-like situation was something Schaefer was looking forward to ever since he sustained a broken collarbone in the World Juniors back in December. The scrimmage marked his first game in over six months and he felt good out there, getting in a quality workout in a fun atmosphere.

“I’ve been dying to get back to it and play a game,” Schaefer said. “I love playing hockey, practices are fun, but games are even better.”

The 2025 first-overall pick garnered a roaring welcome from the moment when he was announced as a starter to every shot he took and every play he made, including a partial breakaway and a handful of chances in the slot. The love from the home crowd was well-reciprocated by the 17-year-old who’d been interacting with fans all week, signing autographs and he stayed after the game to meet more fans.

“It’s amazing and if my dad and brother were here, they would have been like ‘wow this is almost home,’” Schaefer said. “I’ve never been here on the Island, it’s crazy to see how much fans come behind you.”

FINLEY STANDS OUT

Finley was buzzing all night.

The winger showcased his speed and skills in contributing the second goal of the game for the White Team. The 6’0” 187 forward raced down the right wing with the puck, made a nice play with Daniil Prokhorov to then regain control of the puck in front of the net, capitalizing on the chance.

Defensively, Finley also broke up a two-on-one chance, making an impact at both ends of the ice.

“It was fun to put all the development skills we did all week into a game,” Finley said. “It was fun to see all the guys scrimmage-style.”

LENNOX STONES EISERMAN

Tristan Lennox looked solid between the pipes, sharing a shutout with 2025 sixth-round pick Burke Hood in White Team’s win.

The 22-year-old netminder made a highlight reel save as he robbed 2024 first-round pick Cole Eiserman on a breakaway – preventing him from scoring in a flashy performance – and stopped every shot he faced.

Lennox also stopped a laser from Nelson.

INTERNATIONAL PROSPECTS’ FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Victor Eklund and Daniil Prokhorov haven’t spent a lot of time North American ice in game action.

Eklund, who was drafted 16^th overall, spent his whole career in Sweden, while Prokhorov, who was the 42^nd overall pick, is imported from Russia. It was their first time playing with a mix of guys from the CHL, NCAA and USHL in a scrimmage after practicing with them all week.

Eklund’s biggest moment was scoring in the shootout.

“It was a lot of fun, playing with Finley, playing with [Calum] Ritchie,” Eklund said. “The biggest adjustment is probably the small rink. I haven’t played a game in like two months, so being in a small rink was different but I tried by best and enjoyed it.”

Prokhorov was out there making plays and showing Isles fans his size and strength.

“I was talking to him on the bench, sometimes he’s hard to understand but he was unbelievable tonight and really fun to play with,” said Finley, who played with the Russian forward in the first half of the game.

Prokhorov stayed on the ice postgame to sign autographs for the fans, who were lobbing jerseys and hats over the glass. The Russian was just one of many prospects who stayed behind to hand out autographs.

A SURREAL ATMOSPHERE IN JULY

The Isles prospects got their real first taste of the dedicated Islander fanbase.

The passion and energy the Isles fans brought to the scrimmage simulated the atmosphere of a home game at UBS Arena, giving the prospects a preview of what it feels like to play for the blue and orange.

“Just seeing this game, I can’t even imagine how good a home game is,” Schaefer said. “I love it here.”

Islanders in-game elements were used to re-create the atmosphere in the beginning of July. The skated to the 2024-25 Islanders warmup playlist, the Isles goal horn was used, and Islanders PA announcer Alex Anthony was at work, while Bridgeport Islanders announcer Alan Fuehring called the game on the livestream for fans who couldn’t make it in-person. Johnny Boychuk, who was coaching tonight and has been working with the prospects all week, joined Fuehring for a pre-game segment before standing behind the bench.

To make it feel the most surreal, prospects were serenaded with a ‘Let’s go Islanders’ chant throughout the night.

“I didn’t know it was going to be that good, it was pretty unreal to be honest,” Eklund said. “I enjoyed every minute of it.”

“It was pretty electric,” Ritchie said. “To see how passionate the fans were today, it was unreal.”