Islanders' Matthew Schaefer is bigger, stronger, faster and better
Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer celebrates after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Wild on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. Credit: AP/Abbie Parr
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Matthew Schaefer is a better player this season than he was in his record-setting rookie campaign for the Islanders.
The statistics bear that out. So does the eye test. He’s physically bigger, stronger and more confident in his game. It adds up to being quicker on the ice.
It’s not a surprise, given that the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft is a year older at 19 and has a season of experience in the NHL. Nevertheless, it’s an accomplishment, given how other teams are specifically game-planning against him.
The defenseman brought a five-game point streak (two goals, three assists) into Thursday night’s game against the Wild at Grand Casino Arena to complete a three-game road trip. He ended the previous game, Tuesday night’s 4-3 shootout win in Nashville, by becoming the first NHL player to be on the ice for all five minutes of a regular-season overtime period.
“Am I surprised? No,” center Brayden Schenn told Newsday. “He’s got an extreme engine on him. He seems to never get tired. He’s got those young legs and he uses them nightly to play big minutes for us and valuable minutes.”
Schaefer logged a career-high 32:16 against the Predators and, entering Thursday, had been on the ice for at least 20 minutes in 76 consecutive games, an NHL record for a teenager. His 245:43 of ice time in the Islanders’ first 12 games exceeded his closest teammate — defense partner Logan Stanley — by more than 36 minutes.
“He’s probably doing the same things he did last year, but he’s physically stronger and physically faster,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “So you’re getting to places quicker. You’re winning more pucks. He’s attacking every shift. I don’t think that changed from last year, but he’s bigger, stronger, faster.”
“What I think is hardest is consistency in this league,” center Jean-Gabriel Pageau told Newsday. “The first year he comes in, he’s hungry. He wants the puck. He wants to do well. To see that he still has that every day, it amazes me. His composure with the puck. The way he battles to win those pucks. I feel like he’s always on the right side of the puck. He knows when to attack, when to stay back. He’s playing like he’s been playing in the league for 10 years.”
Schaefer set NHL records last season for goals (23) and points (59) for an 18-year-old defenseman. He had two goals and nine assists through this season’s first 12 games.
He’s listed at 6-3, 193 pounds this season after being 6-2, 186 pounds as a rookie, when he won the Calder Trophy in a unanimous vote.
The underlying numbers are better, too.
According to NaturalStatTrick.com, Schaefer was first on the Islanders with 256 chances for — compared with 185 against — and his chances-for percentage of 58.05 trailed only left wing Ondrej Palat (58.56). Schaefer had an expected goals for of 11.44 and an expected goals against of 9.85 for an expected goals for percentage of 53.74. His 125 scoring chances for led the team (compared to 96 against), as did his scoring-chances-for percentage of 56.56.
Last season, Schaefer was 1,499-1,498 in chances for/against with a chances for percentage of 50.02, according to NaturalStatTrick.com. He had an expected goals for of 75.84 and an expected goals against of 73.88 for an expected goals for percentage of 50.66. His scoring chances (715) trailed his scoring chances against (717) for a scoring chances for percentage of 49.93.
And, of course, he never took a five-minute shift in overtime as a rookie. It came through a long delayed penalty and then a power play.
“It was broken up nicely where I wasn’t super-gassed or really that gassed,” Schaefer said. “When you’re in the zone playing with the puck, it’s kind of fun. You’re not backchecking or anything until later when the power play expired.”
Schaefer said during his summer training, he plays in a weekly three-on-three, round-robin scrimmage in which he’s on the ice for five minutes in each mini-match.
“Just the summer training and doing all those cardio things,” he said. “There’s days when you come in and you’re like, ‘I really don’t want to ride this bike.’ But it’s super-good. Being on the ice, too. The more you’re skating on the ice, you get it as you go and it comes back pretty fast.”
It’s made Schaefer a better player.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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