Matthew Schaefer
| Matthew Schaefer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
September 5, 2007 Hamilton, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shoots | Left | ||
| NHL team | New York Islanders | ||
| NHL draft |
1st overall, 2025 New York Islanders | ||
| Playing career | 2025–present | ||
Matthew Schaefer (born September 5, 2007) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenceman for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Schaefer was selected first overall by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL entry draft.
Playing career
[edit | edit source]Junior
[edit | edit source]Playing at the under-16 level for the Halton Hurricanes of the South-Central Triple A Hockey League in 2022–23, Schaefer recorded 12 goals and 32 points in 25 games, earning player of the year honours.[1] Following the season, he was selected first overall in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the Erie Otters.[2] He became the third first overall pick in Otters history, after Ryan O'Reilly and Connor McDavid.[3] In May 2023, he signed a contract with the Otters, committing to play for the team beginning that fall.[4]
Early in his rookie OHL season, the 2023–24 season, Schaefer scored his first goal on October 12, 2023, a power play goal against the Niagara IceDogs.[5] As the backbone of an Otters defence group that The Hockey News described as "bleak," Schaefer was leaned upon heavily but managed the transition from minor hockey to the OHL smoothly.[6] He would finish the year with three goals and 17 points in 56 games, earning first team all-rookie honors.[7] His impressive rookie season came in the face of significant personal struggles, as both his mother and his billet mother died during the season.[2]
Schaefer began the 2024–25 season sick with mononucleosis, missing nine games before getting clearance to play.[8] In January 2025, not long after sustaining a broken collarbone at the 2025 World Junior Championships, he was named the top North American skater on NHL Central Scouting Bureau's midterm rankings.[9] Despite missing the remainder of the season, Schaefer received the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award in advance of the 2025 NHL entry draft, having recorded seven goals and 15 assists in 17 games played.[10]
Professional
[edit | edit source]On June 27, 2025, Schaefer was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2025 NHL entry draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the Islanders on August 4.[11] Schaefer made his NHL debut with the team on October 9, against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and recorded his first NHL point by assisting on a first-period goal by Jonathan Drouin.[12] Two days later on October 11, Schaefer scored his first NHL goal against the Washington Capitals as the Islanders lost the game 4–2. He became the second-youngest defenceman in NHL history to score their first NHL goal at 18 years, 36 days.[13] On October 21, Schaefer recorded his first NHL multi-point game with one goal and one assist in New York's 4–3 win over the San Jose Sharks, also becoming the second rookie defenceman in NHL history to record a point in his first six career games.[14] In recognition of his efforts, Schaefer was named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October.[15] Schaefer continued to break rookie records through November as well. On November 2, Schaefer became the youngest defenceman in NHL history to record a multi-goal game.[16] On November 14, he became the youngest NHL player to score an overtime goal when he scored the game-winner against the Utah Mammoth.[17] By late November, he was the league website's consensus favourite for the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league's best rookie.[18]
International play
[edit | edit source]| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
| Representing File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada | ||
| World U18 Championship | ||
| Gold medal – first place | 2024 Finland | |
| Hlinka Gretzky Cup | ||
| Gold medal – first place | 2024 Canada | |
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Representing Ontario at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, Schaefer, as the team's captain, scored a game-winning goal in overtime of the finals to secure a 3–2 victory over Saskatchewan and a gold medal.[2] Later that year, he would win gold with the Canadian under-17 team at the 2023 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, again as captain.[19][20]
At the 2024 World U18 Championships, Schaefer and Canada went undefeated to a gold medal finish.[21] Although overshadowed by fellow underage player Gavin McKenna and his 20 points at the event, Schaefer was also a standout, averaging just under 18 minutes a night including power play and penalty kill deployment and scoring one goal and five points in seven games.[2]
Schaefer was the Canadian captain at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where his standout play was a driving force behind the Canadians claiming the gold medal.[22] He opened the tournament with two goals in a 10–0 victory against Switzerland,[5] adding four assists over the rest of the event to finish with six points.[23]
After scoring a goal and an assist in the first game of the 2025 World Junior Championships, Schaefer suffered a broken collarbone in the following match, a 3–2 upset loss to Latvia.[24][9]
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Matthew Schaefer is the younger son of Todd and Jennifer Schaefer. His older brother Johnny, like him, played in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). His mother died of breast cancer in February 2024, less than three months after his billet mother Emily Matson was struck and killed by a train in an apparent suicide.[2]
Career statistics
[edit | edit source]Regular season and playoffs
[edit | edit source]| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2023–24 | Erie Otters | OHL | 56 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2024–25 | Erie Otters | OHL | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| OHL totals | 73 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||
International
[edit | edit source]| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Canada White | U17 | 1st place, gold medalist(s) | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | |
| 2024 | Canada | U18 | 1st place, gold medalist(s) | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | |
| 2024 | Canada | HG18 | 1st place, gold medalist(s) | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2025 | Canada | WJC | 5th | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 8 | ||||
Awards and honours
[edit | edit source]| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| CHL | ||
| CHL Top Draft Prospect Award | 2025 | [10] |
| OHL | ||
| First All-Rookie Team | 2024 | [25] |
| NHL | ||
| Rookie of the Month | October 2025 | [15] |
References
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or ESPN.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database, or ThePWHL.com