In two seasons with nearby Erie (Pennsylvania) of the Ontario Hockey League, Schaefer had 39 points (10 goals, 29 assists) in 73 games. He played only 17 regular-season games in 2024-25 because of a broken collarbone, but it was there he put all NHL scouts on notice. Schaefer’s best assets are his hockey sense and skating ability, and his maturity level is so high that many expect him to remain even keel in the toughest of times.
Those are the reasons Islanders coach Patrick Roy felt he was ready to begin his NHL career.
“I don’t think he’s going to make a lot of change (in his game) but obviously he’s going to have to make some change from junior to the NHL,” Roy said. “No disrespect for what was going on in junior, but I think he’s going to have to learn and that’s all we want. We want him to be himself and we’re certainly not going to change his offensive skills. I’m sure he’s going to have to make some adjustments, especially at the beginning with the strength of the players he was seeing in junior compared to NHL. That might be the biggest adjustment for him, but he’s smart, so he’ll be fine.”
Schaefer will play with Scott Mayfield, a 32-year-old in his 12th NHL season, on the third defense pair and looks forward to the partnership this season.
“He’s helped me a lot,” Schaefer said. “Obviously, a lot of guys in this room have been in the League for a long time and I’m kind of the young one in here … the young buck. Scott has been in the game, and he knows what to do, knows we got to talk a lot. They’re going to be coming fast, so it’s pretty easy to make plays with him.”
Said Roy: “We want [Mayfield] to be basically a big brother to him and help him out and I know he will do really well.”
Schaefer said his father, Todd, older brother, Johnny, and other friends and family members will be in attendance. Schaefer lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer in February 2024, so there’s no doubt she will also be on his mind.
“My dad’s been super excited,” Schaefer said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you’re playing in the NHL.’ He’s like a kid in a candy store right now, just enjoying it. Obviously, all the hard times they went through … your parents are working, driving you to practice, doing a lot of stuff. I wouldn’t be here if not for them, so there’s lots of family coming. I think there’s close to 30, but we’ll see. It’s going to be awesome. Obviously, friends, family, so many people and it’ll be good to see them after the game.
“But I’m so dialed-in. I’m super locked-in right now.”
