LOS ANGELES >> The New York Islanders selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft Friday night.

High-scoring forward Michael Misa went second overall to the San Jose Sharks, and the Chicago Blackhawks took Swedish forward Anton Frondell third at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.

The Philadelphia Flyers grabbed forward Porter Martone sixth overall before trading up for the 12th selection to get forward Jack Nesbitt, while the Pittsburgh Penguins maneuvered up and down the draft to control three picks in the top 24, swinging two trades to draft three forwards.

But the Islanders surprised nobody by using their first No. 1 selection since 2009 on the 17-year-old Schaefer, a 6-foot-2 blueliner from Hamilton, Ontario, who spent the past two seasons with the Ontario Hockey League’s Erie Otters.

An exceptional puck-mover and transitional force, Schaefer scored 22 points while playing in only 17 games last season before breaking his collarbone in December. Schaefer’s acumen on both ends of the ice still propelled him to the top of nearly all draft boards.

Schaefer is just the fifth defenseman picked No. 1 overall in the NHL draft since 2000, and the first since Owen Power went to Buffalo in 2021.

Schaefer persevered through tragedy to reach this milestone. Schaefer’s mother, Jennifer, died of cancer 16 months ago, and he also endured the recent deaths of the Otters’ owner, Jim Waters, and the mother of his billet family.

When Schaefer pulled on his Islanders sweater for the first time on the stage, he kissed a pink ribbon patch on the chest representing breast cancer awareness before breaking into tears.

“I appreciate you taking a chance on me,” Schaefer said in a video conference call with the Islanders’ front office. “I promise I won’t disappoint, but especially I just want to say to my mom and all my family and friends, thanks for everything.”

The Islanders added the patch specifically for Schaefer, along with his mother’s initials.

“Seeing the ribbon on my jersey, and I saw a picture, it has J.S. on my back here,” Schaefer said. “You can see just how high-class the organization is. It really means a lot. I wish my mom could be here today. Obviously, she’s with me here in spirit. ... Cancer sucks, and it’s not fun. She didn’t feel the best, but she was always the happiest in the family. She would do anything for us.”

Center Caleb Desnoyers went fourth to the Utah Mammoth, who moved up 10 spots in the draft lottery.

The Nashville Predators chose physical forward Brady Martin with the fifth pick before trading up for the 21st selection to get Kitchener defenseman Cameron Reid.

The fans of the host Los Angeles Kings inside the theater got fired up for their club to make the 24th selection — which the Kings promptly traded to Pittsburgh for the 31st and 59th selections, prompting groans from the crowd.

The Penguins created the majority of the surprises in the first round, first by choosing Calgary Hitmen center Benjamin Kindel with the 11th pick.

Pittsburgh then traded the 12th pick, which originally belonged to the New York Rangers, to Philadelphia for the 22nd and 31st picks. The Flyers wanted the 6-foot-4 Nesbitt, a fast-rising center from the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires last season.

The Penguins also gave a second-round pick to the Kings and swapped first-rounders so they could move up for Michigan center William Horcoff with the 24th pick.

The Anaheim Ducks took a chance on forward Roger McQueen with the 10th selection. The 6-foot-5 McQueen is widely thought to have enough talent to become an elite center, but the Saskatchewan native has been slowed by a back injury that scared off some teams.