Matthew Schaefer enjoyed a whirlwind first season in the NHL last year with the New York Islanders - the defenceman was the first-overall draft pick, skated in all 82 games with the team and took home a Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie.
On top of that, Schaefer set records by an 18-year-old defenceman in goals scored (23) and points (59), and was in the running to play for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.
After a season like that, what kind of long-term vision does Schaefer have for himself in the NHL?
Schaefer joined OverDrive on TSN1050 on Wednesday to discuss that question, working with new Islanders head coach Pete DeBoer and what makes a good defenceman.
“I think the biggest thing with me, whether it’s talking to Pete [DeBoer] or just talking about it, I just wanna be an all-around player,” Schaefer said about what kind of player he hopes to be in five years. “I say I’m an offensive defenceman, but I wanna be a shutdown defenceman. I wanna shut down the top lines.”
Schaefer set the Islanders franchise record for goals by a rookie defenceman on Feb. 25 last season, taking him just 59 games to surpass Denis Potvin’s mark of 17 set in 1974.
The offensive capability of Schaefer was never in question, thanks largely to his elite skating speed. That has been put on display again and again in his career, and Schaefer’s Islanders teammates have been in awe of him since he joined the team.
“Oh god, he completely changed everything,” said captain Bo Horvat said of Schaefer earlier this week. “It was a full 180 for our organization.”
Schaefer is working diligently to improve the defensive side of his game.
“The biggest thing I worked on last year is just being really good defensively, ending plays quick, just making sure those top lines don’t get any looks,” Schaefer said. “And I mean, you’re gonna play really good defensively and then the offence will come off that and the transition game. I just wanna ... every night, I wanna be one of the best players on the ice and in any way possible to help our team win.”
The transformative effect of Schaefer’s talent was part of the draw to lure DeBoer - a veteran with 18 years of head-coaching experience that has advanced to at least the conference finals in eight of those years - to New York.
“What I liked with the Islanders’ situation was some of the names on paper, starting with, obviously, Schaefer, who I got to watch a lot during my Olympic process and being involved in picking the Canadian Olympic team,” DeBoer said in an appearance on First Up on TSN1050 in the summer.
Schaefer has loved working with DeBoer in their brief time together so far, and is hoping it’s a long partnership.
“Petey’s awesome. Just getting to know him, obviously everyone he’s coached have loved him,” Schaefer said. “I mean, he’s gone so far and [done] a lot of things, [but] he hasn’t won a Cup, and I think that’s something he’s looking forward to.”
DeBoer took over for Patrick Roy with four games remaining on the schedule last year and the Islanders out of the playoff race.
“Just getting to know him over the four games last year ... It’s not easy when a new coach comes in and tries to switch the systems a little bit. He doesn’t want to overload us, but he also wants to implement a different structure just to get it in our minds so we can change something and see if that helps us.
“So just having those four games helped and then obviously a full training camp and him coming in and showing what the way is going to be like and what we need to do to win games and go far. So he’s been awesome. I’ve loved him.”
OverDrive’s Bryan Hayes referenced the tendency for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the league’s best defenceman, to go to the defenceman that finishes the season with the most points.
Schaefer is an offence-first defenceman, but he believes there’s more to being a successful defenceman than just scoring points. He’s hoping to contribute more than just scoring to the Islanders in his career.
“Obviously everyone looks at the points and honestly the points will come,” Schaefer said. “[What] I learned last year is, everyone loves the points, but there’s going to be nights where you have no points, but you shut down the other line and you [win] a 1-0 or 2-0 game.
“At the end of the day, It’s not one guy going, it’s your whole team going. So if our bottom line’s getting a couple points and our top line’s not, I mean, the top line could be shutting down their top line. We could be line matching. So you’re not always going to get points in every game. And I think the perfect defenceman can just shut down, play all around ... I’ve learned that you don’t need to have points to be a good defenseman. You don’t need to have any points or you can have points to be a good defenseman too. I’ve just learned that, when I’m moving my feet, when I’m shutting down, guys, getting looks, that’s when I’m, the best version of myself.”