Schaefer skates with Islanders eyeing opening night roster

EAST MEADOW, N.Y. -- Matthew Schaefer skated with the New York Islanders for the opening of rookie camp Thursday, his first official day on the ice with the organization that made him the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, one week before training camp and an audition to begin his professional career in the NHL.

Coming off the draft, development camp, offseason training and getting settled on Long Island, a defenseman who turned 18 six days ago said he's equipped to prove why he belongs in the lineup when the Islanders open the season at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 9.

"Obviously, take it day by day," Schaefer said. "I'm not looking ahead, still focusing on today. Great session on the ice there.

"I feel so much more ready. When you're training in the summer with a lot of top-end guys like Nazem Kadri (Calgary Flames) and Sean Monahan (Columbus Blue Jackets), going up against them is pretty cool. You have to be on your A-game all the time."

Schaefer isn't taking anything for granted. Last week at the NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Arlington, Virginia, he said, "You've got to earn it." Earning it was putting in work with Kadri, Monahan, Scott Laughton (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Jamie Drysdale (Philadelphia Flyers) in Toronto, about an hour from his native Stoney Creek, Ontario. Running the session Thursday was Rocky Thompson, coach of the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport, Connecticut. During development camp, Thompson gave Schaefer some advice: Keep your head up.

Kadri provided a not-so-subtle reminder.

"You don't get caught puck watching," Schaefer said. "I did that once with Kadri, so I got put on my butt. Obviously, you're going to make mistakes, but you have to limit those mistakes, just being able to move your feet and close down plays quickly as a defenseman.

"I feel super close."

The days of summer were a frenzy for Schaefer, the first defenseman chosen No. 1 by the Islanders since Denis Potvin in the 1973 NHL Draft. He signed a three-year, entry-level contract Aug. 4. That followed a season in which he was limited to 17 games with Erie in the Ontario Hockey League because of a broken collarbone sustained Dec. 27 while playing for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship. He had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) and was plus-21 last season.

If Schaefer does not play for the Islanders, he must be returned to Erie. Players who sign NHL contracts are ineligible to play NCAA hockey, and players drafted from a Canadian Hockey League team can't play in the AHL until they turn 20.

He may not have to wait that long.

"I've only kind of gotten to see him in scrimmages and stuff like that, but you can just tell the way he moves, he's going to be a really good NHLer," said Islanders forward prospect Matthew Maggio, a fifth-round pick (No. 142) in the 2022 NHL Draft. "I think he's ready. He knows what it takes and he's going to do everything to make sure that he's here."

Maggio said Schaefer is ready because he reminds him of who he called another dynamic skater, Vancouver Canucks defenseman and captain Quinn Hughes, and there's a different level to his skating with enough deception and edge work that will make him a dynamic player for a long time.

"It's a tough comparison but it's almost like watching Quinn Hughes out there, the way he moves and the way he skates," Maggio said. "You can see the comparable a little bit. It just looks different than everyone else. You can just tell the player he's going to be. When you have someone who's that good at that age, it's going to be hard not to have him start here.

"Matthew's going to be his own player, but there's those guys in the NHL that just skate different. He's one of them."

Schaefer is already being pushed by other prospects and young players also on the ice for rookie camp, including two who are new to the organization. Maxim Shabanov, a 24-year-old forward, signed a one-year, entry-level contract on July 2 after playing for Chelyabinsk of the Kontinental Hockey League, and 18-year-old Barrie defenseman Kashawn Aitcheson, New York's first-round pick (No. 17) in the 2025 draft who played against Schaefer in the OHL.

"We push each other," Aitcheson said. "He's such a such a good player, such high compete, so I think that friendly, friendly competitiveness is great for both of our development."

It'll get a lot harder beginning next week. Schaefer called it a grind but one that's a lot of fun. His first day was only a sample.

"When you're going up against guys like Bo Horvat, Anders Lee, all those guys, they want to beat you every time and you want to stop them every time," Schaefer said. "They said just enjoy it too. You're never going to go straight. You're always going to go up and down. There's always going to be ups and downs in life. Don't get too high when things are going high and don't get too low when things are going low.

"Pressure is a privilege. Not many kids get this opportunity."