Mark Messier

you know, into the parenting of a kid that grows up like that, that is that polished, that mature, that well-spoken, that aware of himself coming into the professional league.

I mean, that's, in my opinion, that's parenting.

And, you know, God rest his mom, but, and, you know, obviously he's given a lot of credit, but what a,

What a selection for the Islanders, and what a player to build the team around.

Wayne was.

I hardly played junior hockey, so I wasn't very...

unfinished product by the time I turned pro.

So I had to kind of hone my skills at the professional level, which is never easy.

You know, my dad used to say he could smell a hockey player the first time he walks into a rink there.

Because if you know hockey, certain players just have that it factor.

I think they've obviously been tracking Matthew Schaefer since he was probably 14, 15 years old and on everybody's radar.

unfortunately got hurt the last year of junior, but I think there was enough book on him to know what kind of person he was, what kind of player he could be.

And the most important element of professional teams across the board is their scouting.

When you get top selections, you can't miss on those players.

And you have to be able to select players deeper in the rounds, third, fourth, fifth, sixth rounds, that actually can fill a hole

No matter where on the team.

And the Islanders, you know, scouts did a tremendous job deciphering through all the information, not taking the popular pick, which you call Higgins, which is probably going to be a great player too.

But Schaefer turned out to be an amazing pick for the Islanders.

I'm in the boat with Boomer because I watch every Ranger game myself.

Every loss hurts.