Islanders' Matthew Schaefer quickly enters realm of elite defensemen
The Islanders' Matthew Schaefer warms up before a game against the Vancouver Canucks at UBS Arena on Dec. 19, 2025. Credit: Getty Images/Andrew Mordzynski
ST. PAUL, Minn.
Tony DeAngelo interjected, correctly predicting the next question to locker stall neighbor and fellow defenseman Matthew Schaefer about how it would be facing Quinn Hughes.
Guilty as charged about that question. Comparing is what we do, and Schaefer already has entered the conversation about the NHL’s top skating, playmaking defensemen along with the likes of Hughes and Cale Makar and a short list of others.
“It’s just a fun game,” Schaefer told Newsday, shying away from discussing Hughes specifically. “[The Wild] have a great team, not only on the defense but their offense is really good.”
The Islanders played the second of a seven-game road trip against the Wild on Saturday night at Grand Casino Arena, giving Schaefer, their sensational rookie, his first chance to meet Hughes, acquired from the Canucks on Dec. 12.
Hughes finished a close second to the Avalanche’s Makar for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2020, an award Schaefer seems destined to win this season. Makar won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2022 and 2025; Hughes won it in 2024. Schaefer seems destined to win it at some point.
And while no NHL game is ever distilled down to a one-on-one battle, it’s always intriguing to watch how one elite player can possibly one-up another elite player.
Schaefer eventually did focus an answer on Hughes and Makar. He called the latter an inspiration before being drafted in June.
“They’re all very similar players,” Schaefer said. “They’re all very smooth skaters. They move the puck really well. They have really good hockey sense. Watching them in the offensive zone is pretty fun to watch because they’re making plays, they’re making moves at the blue line. When you get that, it’s very hard to defend them. They’re very deceptive.”
The Wild entered Saturday’s game 9-2-3 since acquiring Hughes, who had one goal and 12 assists in his first 13 games with his new team.
Schaefer entered Saturday with 12 goals and 17 assists in his first 44 NHL games. He led all rookies in average time on ice (23:53), shots on goal (115), power-play goals (six) and power-play points (13) and was third in overall goals and points (29). He is the only 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history with two overtime goals, the youngest defenseman in league history to reach 10 goals and the youngest defenseman in league history with a multi-goal game (he has two).
“The way that [Schaefer] is able to find lanes from the point is special,” said rookie center Cal Ritchie, who briefly was Makar’s teammate with the Avalanche before being included in the Brock Nelson trade last season. “That’s a similarity I’d say [Schaefer and Makar] have. And the way that they skate and just the confidence that [Schaefer] has. He’s always jumping up in the play and flying around the ice. That’s probably the biggest thing I noticed between the two of them.
“Schaef is only 18. He’s only going to get way better, so it’s impressive.”
Coach Patrick Roy played against elite-skating defensemen such as Paul Coffey and Ray Bourque as a Hall of Fame goalie for the Canadiens and Avalanche from 1985-2003. He was Bourque’s teammate as he ended his Hall of Fame career with the Avalanche from 2000-01.
Roy was asked to define the common thread among defensemen who elevate their game to that level.
“I think that’s the game today,” he said. “I’m not saying the game is a lot faster than when I was playing, but I feel like the skills and the execution is to another level. It seems to me that the players who have speed tend to have success.”
That would be Schaefer. And Hughes. And Makar. But players of that ilk? It’s a very short list.
Notes & quotes: Max Tsyplakov drew into the lineup on the fourth line for Kyle MacLean after being a healthy scratch the two previous games. Adam Boqvist drew in for defenseman Cole McWard on the third pair after being a healthy scratch for the last nine games and 18 of the last 20. “I had a conversation with Tsyppy and we want him to be physical,” Roy said. “We try to adjust to the team we play against.” McWard, 24, averaged 13:44 of ice time without a point in three games after being recalled from AHL Bridgeport.
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.
