![\"Andrew](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776295644_237_image.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\nMatthew Schaefer\u2019s record-setting rookie season started with admittedly humbler goals than budding superstardom after the Islanders selected him first overall in June. First, he just wanted to make the team, let alone quickly ascend to being its No. 1 defenseman and top power-play quarterback. Then he wanted to last 10 games so he wouldn\u2019t be sent back to junior hockey.<\/p>\n
\u201cEighteen years old, it\u2019s crazy to think I\u2019d be playing in the NHL this year,\u201d Schaefer said on Wednesday as the Islanders conducted breakup day at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. \u201cGoing to NHL games last year, being a fan up top in the nosebleeds with my brother and parents. It\u2019s a dream come true. It was an amazing year. I got to learn so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaefer matched Hall of Famer Brian Leetch\u2019s NHL record for rookie defensemen with 23 goals and added 36 assists while playing all 82 games. His 59 points set a league record for an 18-year-old defenseman and his eight power-play goals set a team record for rookie defensemen. He led the Islanders in ice time with an average of 24:41, almost four minutes more than any teammate.<\/p>\n
But he drew more praise from general manager Mathieu Darche for his attention to defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the way he defends and cares about defending that\u2019s truly impressive,\u201d Darche said. \u201cThat\u2019s what sets him apart from any young defenseman that came in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRight from game one, really, having a defenseman like that on the ice for 25, 30 minutes a night just changes the whole complexity of how we play the game,\u201d Mathew Barzal said. \u201cA guy that can break the puck out and a guy that can get up the ice and dangerous in the offensive zone. My whole career I\u2019ve been jealous of Colorado [Cale Makar]\u00a0and Quinn Hughes in Vancouver [now Minnesota]. To finally have our guy is huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaefer will almost certainly win the Calder Trophy as the NHL\u2019s top rookie.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know if I was going to be up or down at the start of the season,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cI wanted to play my first 10 games. I remember when Darchy was like, \u2018Yeah, you\u2019ll be staying up.\u2019 I was like, \u2018I love it. Thank god.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He added about potentially winning the Calder, \u201cIt\u2019s so far down the road. Right now, I wish we could be in the playoffs and still be playing. It feels too early to stop playing hockey. It would be a dream come true, just the names that won that award and there\u2019s so many talented players in this rookie draft class.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaefer spent about 15 minutes in a media scrum reviewing his season and again wishing his mother, Jennifer, who passed away in 2024 because of breast cancer, was around to see it. He spoke extensively and humorously about what it was like living with former Islander tough guy Matt Martin \u2014\u00a0now a special assistant to Darche \u2014\u00a0and his family.<\/p>\n
And he had a ready answer when asked what he had learned about himself this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019ve always wanted sisters,\u201d Schaefer said.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s how he feels about Martin\u2019s daughters Winnie, 5, and Alice, 3.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only people that really boss me around are those two girls,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cThey kind of own me in a way, whether it\u2019s painting nails, going out to play, they\u2019re yelling at me. I always kiss up to them. Me and Ali are pretty crazy together. I\u2019ll wake up in the morning and yell, \u2018Love you.\u2019 And then she\u2019ll start yelling. I get her going and then I leave, like, \u2018Hey, deal with her now.\u2019\u201d
Schaefer said living with Martin, who he did not know before joining the Islanders and his wife, Sydney, was crucial to his quick success.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve been awesome,\u201d Schaefer said. \u201cJust from day one, becoming close with Marty. He\u2019s just so smart, with hockey in general, but he\u2019s just a great person, too, just in life. Being able to talk to him if I have a bad game and things like that, he really puts things in perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Schaefer, who just missed being selected for Team Canada for February\u2019s Winter Olympics, said playing in the upcoming World Championships is a consideration.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be surprised if Team Canada doesn\u2019t call him,\u201d Darche said. \u201cThat\u2019s his decision.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\tAndrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John\u2019s and MLB.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew Schaefer\u2019s record-setting rookie season started with admittedly humbler goals than budding superstardom after the Islanders selected him…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5110],"tags":[5,122,3328,159,5190,5189,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-553475","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-islanders","8":"tag-hockey","9":"tag-islanders","10":"tag-new-york","11":"tag-new-york-islanders","12":"tag-newyork","13":"tag-newyorkislanders","14":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116411318582199617","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}