Can Matthew Schaefer make the Islanders' opening night lineup?

Matthew Schaefer’s last media availability on the final day of the Islanders’ summer prospect development camp brought questions about his cooking skills, his favorite foods and whether he works with a personal nutritionist. It came to this after the talkative No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft did countless interviews in the past month.

But really, the only question now is this: Can the defenseman, who will not turn 18 until right before training camp opens in September, fulfill his stated objective of making the Islanders’ opening night lineup?

“We’re going to give him all the opportunity and support,” coach Patrick Roy said after prospect camp concluded on Thursday at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow. “The thing that I love about him is how humble and grateful he is. I do believe that he is going to be very successful. He’s very intelligent. Very mature.”

“He’s a spectacular player,” said the recently retired Matt Martin, now a special assistant to general manager Mathieu Darche. “I knew that from watching him at World Juniors. And then he gets hurt and you could just see the difference in the Canadian team from that point forward. I spent 45 minutes with him the other day just chatting with him. A very social kid. Forget the age, he’s as impressive an individual as I’ve been around in my career.”

The 6-2, 185-pound Schaefer broke his collarbone while playing for Team Canada in December, limiting him to 17 games (seven goals, 15 assists) for Erie of the junior Ontario Hockey League. That injury came 10 months after his mother, Jennifer, passed away at age 56 from cancer.

Schaefer, because of his age, is not eligible to be assigned to the Islanders’ top minor-league affiliate, Bridgeport of the AHL. The only options are for him to make the Islanders’ roster or be returned to his junior team. Playing for a U.S. college does not seem to be an option because that would keep Schaefer from participating in Islanders training camp, automatically derailing his chance to jump straight to the NHL.

NHL rules stipulate that Schaefer can play up to nine games with the Islanders before the organization must decide whether to keep him on the roster for the rest of the season and burn the first year of his entry-level contract.

Development camp actually affords the organization little real evaluation work, serving more as job orientation for the prospects, many of whom, like Schaefer, have never worked at an NHL facility or with a pro team’s staff.

Still, Schaefer’s obvious elite skating talent and stickhandling — and even some backchecking skills — were on full display.

Now it’s a matter of how Schaefer’s ability stacks up against NHL competition come September’s training camp.

“I want to make the team, that’s my mindset,” Schaefer said. “I want to be on that opening night roster. There’s still a lot to be done in the summer, working in the gym a lot. Doing a lot of things to prepare my body and prepare me. I think just training on a day-to-day basis with NHL guys will get me there. See what they do.”

Schaefer will spend some time this summer at home in Stoney Creek, Ontario. He also is training with a group led by former NHL defenseman Mark Giordano that includes Islanders blueliner Adam Pelech.

In the end, Schaefer’s elite skating — he was considered to have the best skating ability in this draft regardless of position — will go a long way in training camp.

“It’s unbelievable,” said forward Danny Nelson, a second-round pick in 2023 who also participated in his first prospect camp. “It looks like he’s floating out there. He’s flying around. It’s very cool to be able to watch.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

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.