He Is Already Making NHL History…

He Is Already Making NHL History…

See this kid right here? This is Matthew Schaefer. And already he’s made NHL history. The first pick in the 2024 NHL entry draft was this 6’2 mobile puck moving defenseman who went to the New York Islanders. High-end talent is something that has been quite rare for the Island over the last decade. But Matthew Schaer has already shown everyone just how good he can become. He was the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a point in his league debut. So far, he’s opened the season as one of the leaders in points and the team leader in time on ice. Already, he’s drawing comparisons from coaches around the league. For 18 years old, 26 minutes. I I just made the comment the management there. I’m glad he’s in the east. Uh the kid is dynamic. Boy, can he skate? U you know, I’ve seen some young guys step into this league. There’s a guy in Colorado that kind of have that same kind of poise and ability to move. He is uh he is dynamic. At 18 years old, coaches are already happy they only have to see him twice a year. So, just how good is Matthew Schaefer? What kind of player is he? What’s the ceiling? And how can he transform the New York Islanders? Well, let’s dive right in. The best way to describe Schaefer is a high-end skating two-way puck mobile defenseman. The foundation of his entire game starts with his skating. Just looking at the numbers so far, Schaefer already ranks in the 99th and 98th percentile in terms of max skating speed and speed burst over 20 mph. Considering year-over-year guys like McKinnon, McDavid, and Mar all in that percentile, the kid can flat out fly. And when you watch him skate, his stride looks effortless. It’s long, smooth extensions. And when he kicks it into a high gear, it is noticeable how fast a guy of his size is moving. At 631 185, his giddy up in acceleration almost looks like McDavid if he was two inches taller. The raw speed is clearly there and that’s fantastic. But if you don’t know how to use it, you’re useless. Schaefer, though, in a very small sample size is already showing how he can weaponize his speed in almost every situation. Flat out, Schaefer skating is already transforming the Islanders game in all three zones. And the biggest way is through his transitional play. early on. There is no hesitancy in his game to jump up in the play and give the Islanders options on the breakout and on the attack. In the modern NHL, this is the base of most high operating offenses and defenses, too. With how well teams forch check in the league, teams require the weak side D to step up and get active on the far side to give an outlet. When he’s away from the puck in the D zone, he’s already got that knack to understand when to use his speed and jump. Watch him here as this play makes its way up the boards. He’s going to mirror the pace of the puck. He kicks it up a gear, but enough to react if things go wrong and go the other way. A full burst up the middle here only puts him far too ahead of the play. Sure enough, the puck comes off the boards, and he’s timed his speed perfectly to arrive onto the puck where now he can kick it even to a higher gear to challenge this defender. It’s these micro reads that turn raw speed into a dangerous opportunity. Then you see what he can do with the puck on his stick and in transition and it mirrors that to the best defenseman in the game who can single-handedly break down neutra zone structures with just their skating and deception. A player of his speed already has the ability to fly by layers once he really gets going. But against good structured teams like Washington, that won’t always be the case. So here, despite gaining all that speed, Washington’s layers have taken away the middle, which opens up that outside lane. good players see that opening and try to attack it. But the foresight to understand that back pressure is closing in and the space will shrink very quickly is elite hockey sense. So instead of driving that very space, he’s going to get into a wide base to change speeds and wait for his teammate to join the attack on the wing. Would you look at that? There’s the back pressure we talked about. Stick is right in the lane, too. But he’s going to mix in some of Nund’s sauce. He puts it right on the tape and it ends up leading to a very solid scoring chance. His first NHL point came off a rush sequence where he recognized early enough that the space just wasn’t there for him to keep possession himself. Instead, he extends the play with a soft dump, gives pressure, and allows his team to get possession off the forche. Before you know it, he’s getting his first NHL point and making history. You’ll notice a lot with his transition play that he uses his options to create give and go plays while attacking the heels of defenders. No matter how fast you are, no one moves faster than the puck, and Schaefer gets it. paired that type of speed on the transition with Mattie Barczel, who’s an unbelievable skater as well. That’s a lot of pace coming at teams at once. Last year, the Islanders of all teams were actually first in the league when it came to possession exits. I’d imagine that having a player like Schaefer will keep them in a good spot in that category. However, Schaefer will also have a big impact in New York’s offensive zone play. When you have a mobile defenseman like Hughes, Macar, or Hudson, your entire offensive strategy becomes more active and flexible. The Islanders last year did play in this two-3 structure when they had the puck, but the mobility and awareness of Schaefer allows them to now be a little bit more dynamic with their movement here. Watch the center slip up high as each defender occupies the flanks. Schaefer and the other D are going to slide down and it’ll end up being two forwards cooking on the blue line. The movement creates confusion for coverages. Schaefer swings back up high and gets a beauty look and his mobility is going to carry the rest of the plate to create yet another great chance. With how well he moves both with and without the puck, we will likely see New York use a lot more motion as a fiveman unit throughout this season. The other aspect of Schaer’s game that pairs really well with this is his willingness to shoot the puck. Already Schaefer is among the leaders in the NHL in shot attempts per game. Whenever he has a lane, he’s taking it and pouring pucks on net to try and catch the goalie in this relaxed stance. Watching the best Dmen in the world, this is what they do best when it comes to scoring goals from the blue line. Now, with that being said, there is room for Schaefer to improve in terms of shot selection. He throws a ton of pucks on net and in traffic in general. The next evolution for him will be holding on to some of these pucks and potentially using his blue line deception that we saw a ton in Junior to make more plays. how confident of a player he is. I think we’ll see this come out in a couple weeks, if not a couple games. We’re still super early into his career and the season. Then you have the more defensive element of his game where his size and speed is already super effective at closing off gaps. The Islanders were the worst team in the NHL last year for rush shots allowed. Having a player like Schaefer’s range and skating can certainly help in that area. Similar to guys like Macar and Hughes, the primary way he will shut down threats will be with his angling, stick work, and anticipation. A really good sign early on is that he’s already controlling the neutral zone. His skating allows him to surf puck carriers into dead ends without breaking stride. What really stands out is how comfortable he is defending forward because he trusts his speed and isn’t afraid of getting beat wide. And see him frequently force opposing forwards into dumpins or risky passes through traffic. Those are the kind of low percentage plays that you want your defender to create for the other team. Now, the biggest adjustment will of course be defending low in the zone around the net and handling the forhat. This will improve with more experience and as he gets a bit more meat on him, he can handle retrievalss more smoothly. But even at this point, we see him use his frame to get position before possession to create clean breakouts. Because Schaefer likes to be aggressive in his defense, it can sometimes bite him where he gets caught lunging or puck watching to try and close that space quickly. Schaefer is always looking to convert defense into offense with his stick. You’ll see him hunt for takeaway opportunities, which is great, but sometimes that means he’s neither containing a slot target or standing close enough to challenge a puck carrier, which can be a problem defensively. Winning net front battles and improving slot coverage will all be a part of his development. Like I’ve said, it’s really, really early, but very few players show right away the potential and impact that Schaefer already has. To have an immediate impact as a rookie in the NHL is hard at any age, but doing it at 18 as a defenseman is extremely rare. It’s no secret the Islanders as a whole will probably be bad this year, but the future is extremely bright. And even though it’s early, Schaefer is showing all the signs that he can be a franchise defenseman for years to come. So, what do you think of Matthew Schaefer so far? It is extremely early, yes, but he’s shown a lot of good signs in terms of development and what he can bring to the table for the Islanders. Do you think he wins rookie of the year in the Calder Trophy? I know Ivan Demidov is probably the front runner in that regard, but with the way Schaefer plays and can control play, it could be a very close race near the end of the season. Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below. Huge shout out to the virtual hockey scout and Big Head Hockey for some of the clips used in this video. Check them out in the description down below. If you want more hockey content, we have weekly recaps every single Sunday dropping on the channel, as well as team and player breakdowns just like this one throughout the week. So, make sure you subscribe and turn on notifications so that you don’t miss a

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In this video we take a look at the potential NHL rookie of the year in Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders

Check out the channels that made this video possible here:
@bigheadhockey
https://virtualhockeyscout.substack.com/