Anaheim Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke was second in the voting with 56 points, and Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov was third (54).
“I know Sennecke and Demidov have had great years, but it really feels like with every passing day the Calder is getting more and more of a sure thing for Matthew Schaefer,” Johnson said.
Schaefer also leads all first-year defensemen in assists (26), points, power-play points (15), shots on goal (156), blocked shots (88) and average ice time. He is also first among all rookies in penalties drawn (30).
“I’ll never doubt his IQ,” coach Patrick Roy said. “The ability to find those shooting lanes and manage to, when you jump in, bring pucks to the net. It’s impressive, I won’t lie.”
Schaefer was named NHL “First Star of the Week” for games ending March 1. He scored a League-high four goals in three games to help the Islanders become the 10th team in the NHL history to have at least three straight multigoal comeback wins.
“He puts himself in positions to score and regardless if he gets a bounce or two, he’s getting the puck through to the net and he does that night in and night out, and that’s why the last few games especially he’s putting it in the net because he’s starting to find those lanes,” New York captain Anders Lee said. “His game is only going to grow, but in this short period of time it looks like he came back (from the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026) and has continued to see the ice so well.”
It’s no wonder Islanders fans are at some point chanting his name each home game.
“If I wasn’t playing a game I’d be smiling and super happy, but I’ve got to stay dialed in as much as I can,” Schaefer said. “When I hear the crowd, that gets me super fired up and it’s so fun. I want to score as many goals as I can if I hear that every night, but obviously it’s such a team effort.
“At the end of the day, guys are finding me and all I have to do is put it on net. So, it’s not me — it’s a team effort.”
