Islanders' Schaefer Continues to Shine

When you are the number one overall pick in the NHL, there is a lot of pressure on you to succeed right away.

This was the case for 2025 number one overall pick, defenseman Matthew Schaefer. The Islanders took him and while there was not necessarily pressure for him to crack the NHL roster, I am sure that both the franchise and their fans wanted to see what he could do right away.

Fast forward to now and Schaefer, at just 18 years of age, might end up winning the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year. As of this writing (Monday, March 2), he is second on the Islanders in scoring with 44 points (20 goals and 24 assists) in 61 games.

So far, it is easy to say that Schaefer has done it all for his hockey club. For starters, he has produced.

As mentioned above, he has 44 points. He is also +14, has seven power play goals, has two overtime goals, has four game-winning goals, and has 146 shots on goal.

After his team's 5-4 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night at UBS Arena, team captain Anders Lee marveled at Schaefer's offense prowess to AMNY writer Joe Pantorno.

He’s a stud, he’s an absolute stud,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “He just puts himself in positions to score, and regardless of if he got a bounce or two, he’s putting himself there and he’s getting the puck through to the net. And he does that night in and night out.

Lee also told Pantorno that things seem to happen whenever Schaefer has the puck on his stick.

There’s a buzz in the air when he touches the puck,” Lee said. “He’s creating so much, and he’s all over the ice offensively and defensively, and there’s no doubt we feed off that.”

Speaking of putting up offensive numbers, Schaefer was named the league's first star of the week for the week ending March 1. He scored a league-high four goals and added an assist for five points in three wins over the Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Panthers.

After the team's big victory over the Panthers, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy told reporters that it was more of the same from Schaefer.

How many times have I said the word impressive?” Islanders head coach Patrick Roy said of Schaefer. “He’s doing things very special out there. The quality of decision-making is impressive as well. He’s jumping into the plays, shooting with confidence. As a result, he got a couple of goals. One was a lucky one… but the second one was a nice play in the entry.

Schaefer has also been solid in his own end. He breaks up a lot of passes, seems to always be in the right position, knows when to be aggressive and knows when to lay off opposing players, and as mentioned above, is tied for second on the team in +/- with a +14.

Islanders head coach Patrick Roy seems to know how good Schaefer is at his natural position given by how much ice time he gives him. Schaefer currently leads the Islanders in ice time as he is currently averaging 24:07 minutes of ice time per game.

Lastly, Schaefer has played with an abundance of confidence this year. He has shown that he is not afraid to jump into plays, put pucks on the net, and go into the corners to get pucks in his own end.

This is a special player, folks. He produces, plays well in his own end, generates scoring opportunities, brings the fans out of their seats on a nightly basis, and has helped the Islanders to be a strong hockey team this season, as they are currently third in the Metropolitan Division, sixth in the Eastern Conference, and ninth in the NHL with a record of 35-21-5 for 75 points.

Luckily for the Islanders and their fans, this is only the beginning for Schaefer and his journey with this franchise.