PR takeaway from the NHL Draft: Emotion doesn’t need to be loud to land

{Coming to you a day early this week …}

The New York Islanders took defenseman Matthew Schaefer No. 1 in this year’s NHL Draft. “Oh,” say those who don’t care about hockey.

Yes, there’s more.

A 17-year-old from Hamilton, Ontario, Schaefer speaks with the poise of someone three times his age, and his game is already running on max power. That’s not the story, though. The Islanders and the National Hockey League got deserved publicity for how they introduced Schaefer.

You see, just 16 months ago, Schaefer lost his mom, Jennifer, to breast cancer. In her honor and to keep her close to his heart, Schaefer wore her photo inside his jacket during the draft. What came next keeps tissue producers in business.

When the Islanders designed Schaefer’s special draft jersey, they added a pink ribbon with his mom’s initials near the collar. He realized it after he pulled on the jersey.

Was there a dry eye in the room? Definitely not his. He kissed the ribbon and pointed to the sky before tearfully speaking.

While I don’t know for sure, I feel confident the Islanders added the ribbon to embrace Schaefer for everything he’s been through (he was also injured last year and mourned a coach), not for publicity. They got it, though. Schaefer’s story struck chords like few things could, and the Islanders likely earned some new fans.

Not only is it healthy to share genuine emotions, but your audience will pull you closer when you show you’re more than an athlete, teacher, technician, lawyer — you know what I mean. You’re human.

Beyond any tool you use in your publicity plan, people remember how you make them feel. With Schaefer, it was a combination of love and compassion, along with anticipation for a future star.

Congratulations to all involved. Now go grab some hardware, Matthew. It’ll be easy to cheer for you.

Independence Day was — is July 1 for college athletes

July 1, 2021 — a day that signaled the most dramatic change in college sports history. That’s why National NIL Day was created — to celebrate the date college athletes were given the right to profit from their own name, image and likeness.

Having spoken to parents and athletes who didn’t know where to start meaningful NIL relationships, and coaches, who were also at a loss, I researched, wrote and published information and publicity tips to NILPublicity.com.

Look for future posts as we approach the fall sports calendar.

Speaking of independence — Enjoy a safe and happy July 4th, USA. Then get your gloves out because we’ve got a fight on our hands. I trust — hope you’ve learned by now that independence isn’t free. It has to be earned and preserved. But hey, only if you want it.

© 2025, Gail Sideman, gpublicity.com, SIDEbar

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