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Matthew Schaefer Is A Deserving #1 Pick For Multiple Reasons
Matthew Schaefer Is A Deserving #1 Pick For Multiple Reasons
Matthew Schaefer has one of the most moving and powerful stories of any athlete you can find. Many experts have the Erie Otters defenseman tipped to become a New York Islander on Friday’s NHL Draft. They will be picking first overall after winning the lottery in May. However, there is so much off the ice about this player you must first learn about. Instead of writing it all out, take a look at a video put together by the Game Notes Podcast:
Just mature beyond his years. It’s hard to believe that he is only seventeen years old. It is also hard to believe that a guy that young could go through so much. In those teenage years, a devastating loss like that can consume you. That grief can cause irreversible damage. However, instead of letting the grief break him down, Schaefer used it as fuel. To work harder, be better, and fight harder. He is already one of the most inspirational hockey players around, and he has not even played in an NHL game yet.
What’s almost as impressive is that he also dealt with considerable injuries and medical setbacks during 2024-2025. In only 17 OHL games, Schaefer posted 7 goals and 22 points with a whopping plus/minus of +21. He dominated his minutes and left no doubt among analysts on who should be the number one pick even in limited game time.
Another Blue Chip Blue Liner
He measures at 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds. A left-handed defenseman, his skating ability is remarkable. Even with a few clips alongside Mark Giordano, the way he takes his strides is just freakish. He has that one-man-rush capability that we’ve become so familiar watching out of Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. His IQ on the ice is also top-tier. When you pair that with high-end puck skills you can routinely watch nifty combinations with teammates and almost always being in the right place at the right time. If he’s fully healthy he is a number one defenseman and a damn good one at that.
It’s easy to fall in love with the player, but it’s impossible to hate the person. When the vets of the Islanders age out and retire, it should be set in stone that he becomes a future captain. Having good people skills at his age is very hard to find. He goes out of his way to connect with others and be a role model, even in the face of such tragedy. You can already imagine how easy it would be to share a locker room with him. The hockey media should be shedding more light on him because I am honestly in awe of him. Even without doing too much digging, he is just incredibly astounding as a hockey player and human being.
Matthew Schaefer does not deserve the heartbreak and discomfort he has had to face up to this point. What he does deserve is the praise and admiration for how he has handled it both on and off the ice. Remember this name, because the sky is the limit for him.
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