NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at the early prowess of rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer.
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Matthew Schaefer is making an immediate impact for the New York Islanders early on in his rookie season and ranks near the top of the charts in various NHL EDGE stats categories.
Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, became the youngest such defenseman (18 years, 34 days) to play an NHL game and the third 18-year-old at the position in history to have points in each of his first three games, joining Phil Housley (1982-83) and Jakob Chychrun (2016-17). Schaefer ranks third among NHL defensemen in shots on goal (13; trailing Zach Werenski’s 19 and Adam Fox’s 15) and has been on the ice for five of the Islanders’ seven goals this season (leading the team).
After playing 17:15 in his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 9, Schaefer played 26:04 against the Washington Capitals in his home debut Saturday, followed by 26:35 against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. Since time on ice officially was tracked in 1997-98, Schaefer is the third rookie to have a point, at least four shots on goal and play at least 26:00 in consecutive games, joining Moritz Seider (2021-22 with Detroit Red Wings) and Alex Ovechkin (2005-06 with Washington Capitals). Schaefer did that in just his second and third career games.
Even with the Islanders off to an 0-3-0 start, here are three underlying reasons behind Schaefer’s early prowess and rapid rise to near the top of the Calder Trophy race:
1. Skating speed
Schaefer ranks seventh in the entire NHL in 20-plus mile per hour speed bursts (21), trailing only the usual group of forward speedsters including Connor McDavid (28; first), Nathan MacKinnon (25; third) and Jack Eichel (24; tied for fourth). Schaefer’s total in that category is six more than the next-closest defenseman (Anaheim Ducks’ Olen Zellweger with 15).
Schaefer reached his max skating speed (22.70 mph) of the season against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, the sixth-highest mark among NHL defensemen. The only player at his position with more 22-plus mph speed bursts than Schaefer (three) is Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson (four).
