He’s Doing Things That Have Never Been Done Before..

He’s Doing Things That Have Never Been Done Before..

A rookie defenseman is not supposed to be doing this. They’re not supposed to lead all NHL blueers in goals, look like a 10-year vet, or turn the Islanders of all teams into a mustwatch team. But Matthew Schaefer is doing things rookie defenseman have literally never done in NHL history. Not even Bobby or for crying out loud. He’s calm, dynamic, he controls the pace, and somehow he looks like he’s been doing it for years. And the crazy part, he’s just getting started. But before he was tearing up the NHL on the back end, he was already doing that back in juniors. He went first overall in the 2023 OHL draft. And right away, you could see the tools he had. His rookie year wasn’t some crazy offensive breakout. 17 points in 56 games, a minus two rating. But the flashes were there. He looked calm, mobile, and way more composed than most 16-year-olds in that league. Then came year two, and he barely got to play. He was taken out in the beginning of the year thanks to Mono and then he returned after missing a handful of games and was ready just in time for the 2025 World Juniors. In the opener against Finland, Schaefer grabbed the puck up high in the zone and instead of forcing a cycle or playing it safe, he ripped a perfect crossseam pass straight to Gavin McKenna in front. And the hype around McKenna at the time and the highlight reel goal stole the spotlight. But the real play was Schaefer threading a lane that basically didn’t exist and putting the puck right on his tape. But that tournament unfortunately did not last long for him. In the very next game against Lavia, he crashed hard into the post and ended up breaking his clavicle, cutting his run short before it really even got going. But the little that we did see from Schaefer in those few OHL games and the few Canadian games was ridiculous. In just 17 OHL games, he put up 22 points with a plus 21 rating. He won the CHL Top Draft Prospect award, and scouts were all over the same things. his size, the effortless skating, the way he transitioned the puck like a pro, and the maturity in his game, it just didn’t make sense for a player his age. But Schaefer wasn’t a guaranteed first overall pick the entire year. Actually, the 2025 draft class was loaded with high-end offensive talent like Michael Misa, James Higgins, Anton Frenell. So, early on, there was a real debate about who was going to go first overall. But, as the season went on and teams got a clearer look, it became pretty obvious who was going number one. The New York Islanders are proud to select from the Eerie Otters, Matthew Schaefer. Matthew Schaefer went first overall to the New York Islanders. And from the moment his name was called, the organization treated him like a major piece of their future. The team had been looking for a true high-end modern defenseman who could move the puck, create offense, and play big minutes. And that belief was obvious when they traded away Noah Dobson, opening up real playing time and giving Schaefer a clear path to step in right away. He was the talk of the island, getting all the media attention and winning over fans. He was going to be the first true face of the franchise since John Tiverz. And he was handling all this media attention, the spotlight, the pressure, all while he was 17 years old. In fact, he didn’t turn 18 until just 34 days before his NHL debut where he was set to play Sydney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Schaefer’s first NHL game set the tone for everything that came after. On his very first night in his very first game, he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a point, picking up a primary assist on a goal by Jonathan Duan. And Patrick Wis liked what he saw right away, and he leaned on him heavily. Schaefer played over 7 minutes in the opening period, which is a massive workload for any rookie of defenseman, let alone someone who had just turned 18 barely a month earlier. By the time the game had ended, Schaefer had logged 17 minutes of ice time. and why even threw him out there with the empty net late in the third as the Islanders pushed for the tying goal. That kind of responsibility usually takes players months to earn, but Schaefer got it in game one. He also became the second youngest defenseman in the last 70 years to make his NHL debut and the moment he stepped in the ice, it was obvious he was already keeping up. After that debut, he carried the momentum straight into the next game. His first one in front of the Islanders fans at UBS Arena and he didn’t waste any time giving them something to cheer about. He scored his first NHL goal in a 4-2 game against the Capitals, becoming the second youngest defenseman in NHL history to score a goal. The only player younger was Ross Johnstone, and that was back in the 1940s. Back-to-back games, an assist in his debut, and a goal in the very next one. And at just 18 years old, he was already putting his name next to records that had been untouched for almost 80 years. Schaer closed out his first month in the league on fire, putting up eight points in 11 games and grabbing the NHL’s Rookie of the Month award for October. He also opened the season with a six-game point streak, dropping two goals and five assists right out of the gate, tying Merrick Zidlicki for the longest season opening streak by a rookie defenseman in history. From day one, he was producing like a guy who had been in the league for years. And Schaefer didn’t slow down once the calendar flipped. He rolled straight into November with the same momentum and immediately made more history. In the first game of November against the Columbus Blue Jackets, he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to have a multi-goal game, scoring two at 18 years, 58 days, breaking Bobby Or’s record. And anytime your name jumps ahead of Bobby Orur in anything, you’re probably doing something right. He kept the hot streak alive, driving offense from the blue line, jumping into plays with confidence, and continuing to put up numbers that didn’t look anything like what an 18-year-old should be doing. And yeah, individually these stats might sound a little bit cherrypicked, but together they paint the full picture. Schaefer is ahead of almost every great defenseman who came before him at this age. And while the offense was grabbing the headlines, the workload behind it was just as crazy. The Islanders didn’t treat him like a teenager who needed to be eased in. They threw minutes at him right away. In his second and third games of his career, he played 26 minutes both nights, and he handled it like it was nothing. Now about 20 games into the season, he’s settled in as a guy who’s consistently logging 20 plus minutes a night. And it’s not really unusual to see him push towards 25 or more when the games get tight. He’s averaging 2230 per night, which is more than Quinn Hughes did at 19, more than Adam Fox at 21, more than Kale Mar at 21, more than Charlie Makavoy at 20. All during the rookie seasons and that ice time, it’s paying off for the fish sticks. 20 games into his rookie season. And he’s sitting at 15 points with seven goals and eight assists. Among all NHL Bluel Liners, he’s first in goals, already scoring more than guys who have been in the league for 5, 10, even 15 years. He’s also tied for third in power play points with seven. And he’s been a major reason the Islanders top unit looks dangerous again. When you look at where Schaefer stacks up among every 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history, the names ahead of him are almost all star. Phil Hley sits at top of the list with 66 points. a hall of famer and one of the greatest offensive defenseman ever. Raz Stalin is right behind him, a former first overall pick who’s now a yearly Norris contender. And of course, Bobby sits there, too. The player who completely redefined the position. Even the rest of the group is filled with legit NHL talent. Aaron Ecklad, another first overall pick. Scott Stevens, a Hall of Famer and one of the best shutdown defenseman ever. Jacob Chrin, a top pair guy when he’s healthy. Noah Hannifan, a steady top four defenseman. Roman Hammerick, who played more than 1300 games. Alli Freddy, a four-time all-star with one of the hardest shots in league history. These are the players that Schaefer is already joining in the record books and passing a lot of them. And if he continues to play like the way he’s playing, he could pass Phil Hley and sit at the top of that list. But what exactly is making him so good? What is putting him above the rest? Schaefer’s entire game starts with his skating, and the numbers back it all up. He’s hit a top speed of 22.93 miles an hour, which puts him in the 96th percentile among all NHL defenseman. He’s not just fast in a straight line, he sustains it. He already has six bursts over 22 mph, 65 bursts in the 20 to 22 mph range, and 143 bursts between 18 and 20 mph. All of those are in the 99th percentile. And you can see it every shift. His edgework is sharp, and his acceleration is explosive. And his defensive mobility lets him close gaps instantly. That speed is what unlocks his whole game. Retrieving pucks, escaping pressure, and jumping into the rush, beating for checkers before they even touch him. With the puck on his stick, his vision stands out just as much. And he did it at the junior level. And now we’re seeing it at the NHL. He reads the ice insanely well for an 18-year-old, finding seams, starting breakouts, and jumping into plays at the perfect times. His passing is crisp, and he makes the kind of calm, correct decisions you usually see from guys in their mid20s when they hit their prime. Defensively, he’s doing just as well. His gap control’s tight. He angles players away from danger. And his stick detail is already at a pro level. He rarely looks rushed, even when he’s under pressure, and that maturity has been the biggest surprise. He plays with this steady, composed presence shift after shift. And then there’s his shooting, which is already turning into a major part of his offensive game. He’s generating shots at an elite level, sitting in the 99th percentile for defenseman with 57 shots on goal. And he’s also in the 99th percentile in goals with seven. His shooting percentage is at 12.3% ranking in the 94th percentile. And it shows how well he’s picking his spots. He gets pucks through traffic, fires quickly off the rush, and finds open ice in the offensive zone. His release is clean. He stays active at the blue line, and he’s constantly creating pressure by simply just being a threat to shoot every time he has the puck. And when you stack everything together, the speed, the strength on his edges, the vision, the ability to generate offense by himself and the shot, the comparison that comes up is pretty obvious. The player that Schaefer lines up the most stylistically is Kale Mar. The similarities show up in the way both of them explode out of their zone, activate into the rush, and turn defense into instant offense. The skating mechanics, the confidence to jump into plays, and the timing on their entries. It all has the same modern dynamic feel. There are still natural differences. Macar’s edge work and deception are at a level only a handful of defense in the league have ever reached, and Schaefer is still developing that level of detail and unpredictability. But in terms of how they approach the game, the north south speed, the transition control, the willingness to take over shifts, the comparison fits. If we’re looking at projections, Schaefer’s floor looks like a reliable top four two-way defenseman who can play 22 plus minutes a night. The middle outcome is a top pair guy with all-star upside. And the ceiling on this kid, if everything hits, is a game-breaking franchise defenseman in the same mold as the elite modern puck movers at the top of the league. With the tools he already has at 18, he’s trending towards that upper tier faster than anyone expected. In just a few weeks, Matthew Schaefer has gone from an unproven prospect to one of the most impactful defenseman in the league right now. The goals, the minutes, the records he’s breaking, it’s all happening fast, and it’s all pointing towards a player with a rare combination of tools. He’s off to a historic start. He’s already playing like a top pair defenseman, and his projection lines up with some of the best modern Blueliners in the world. These are the kind of players that fans, analysts, and even other teams pay attention to because players who look like this at 18 usually become the cornerstones everyone talks about for decades to come. And Schaefer, he has all the tools. I love this place. Let’s go Islanders, baby. Inside the

Matthew Schaefer is breaking NHL records at 18 and nobody can figure out how he’s doing it. From insane skating data to goal scoring numbers that rival Bobby Orr, his rookie season is starting to look unreal. How is a teenager leading NHL defensemen in goals and ice time? The full story is crazier than you think.
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