Roughly two-and-a-half months after being selected No. 1 overall by the New York Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft, Matthew Schaefer hit the ice for the opening of the team's rookie camp on Thursday.
It was the young defenseman's first time on the ice with the National Hockey League organization — and he's ready to prove that he belongs on the opening night roster next month.
“Obviously, take it day by day. I'm not looking ahead, still focusing on today,” the 18-year-old said after the skate, per NHL.com's Jon Lane. “Great session on the ice there. I feel so much more ready. When you're training in the summer with a lot of top-end guys like Nazem Kadri and Sean Monahan, going up against them is pretty cool. You have to be on your A-game all the time.”
After missing the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs altogether — the first time that had happened since 2021-22 — New York is looking to return to the dance next spring. And Schaefer, who missed most of his 2024-25 junior campaign but was still the consensus No. 1 selection, projects to be part of that quest this season.
Daily Faceoff has the Hamilton, Ontario native pencilled onto the third defense pairing alongside Scott Mayfield, although anything could happen at training camp. Tony DeAngelo is expected to quarterback the top powerplay unit, but if Schaefer shows out at training camp, there's a realistic possibility he could get a look on PP1 at some point.
Still, he isn't taking anything for granted, saying at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Virginia last week that “You've got to earn it.”
The former Erie Otter continued: “You don't get caught puck watching. I did that once with Kadri, so I got put on my butt. Obviously, you're going to make mistakes, but you have to limit those mistakes, just being able to move your feet and close down plays quickly as a defenseman. I feel super close.”
Islanders will be competitive in 2025-26
After signing his three-year, entry-level contract at the beginning of August, Schaefer has security on Long Island for at least the next couple of years. He joins a franchise that made a couple of moves this summer to try to get back to postseason contention in 2026.
Although Noah Dobson is no longer part of the equation — partly because Schaefer is the new franchise cornerstone on the blue line — Jonathan Drouin and Emil Heineman were added to the forward core. So was Maxim Shabanov, who should give the club a jolt after coming over from the KHL, where he was third in scoring with 67 points in 65 games in 2024-25.
But the most exciting addition of all was Schaefer, the first D-man chosen No. 1 overall by the Isles since Denis Potvin in 1973, per Lane. Although he played just 17 games with the Otters in the Ontario Hockey League due to a broken collarbone, he managed 22 points, along with a plus-21 rating, from the blue line.
It'll be interesting to see if Schaefer is still on the big league roster when the Islanders open their 2025-26 regular-season against the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 9.
