“I’m still trying to sign all of our restricted free agents,” Darche said on a predraft teleconference on Tuesday, including defenseman Alexander Romanov and forwards Simon Holmstrom and Maxim Tsyplakov and, possibly, forward Marc Gatcomb and defenseman Scott Perunovich.

While Darche is not saying it, the growing consensus is the Islanders are expected to select defenseman Matthew Schaefer on Friday night.

The No. 1 selection carries immense consequences, but it is at least a relatively straightforward decision. The same cannot be said for the other dilemmas facing Mathieu Darche this week.