NHL EDGE stats behind Schaefer’s historic rookie season

NHL.com's fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we look at defenseman Matthew Schaefer's dominance in his rookie season.

---

Matthew Schaefer is having a historic rookie season for the New York Islanders and ranks near the top of the defenseman charts in various advanced metrics.

Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, has scored 20 goals this season, the most by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history. After scoring two goals against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday to break Phil Housley's NHL record for 18-year-old defenseman, he scored another two goals against the Florida Panthers on Sunday to mark the first time a defenseman became the first rookie to reach 20 goals in a season. On Sunday, Schaefer also tied Housley's record for the most multigoal games by a teenage defenseman in a season in NHL history (each had four multigoal games).

Schaefer, who ranks third among NHL rookies in points (44 in 61 games) this season and is tied for second among all defensemen in goals, became the youngest defenseman and sixth-youngest skater in history to score 20 goals in a season. Schaefer became the second Islanders defenseman in history to score 20 goals in a season, joining Denis Potvin (had nine 20-goal seasons with New York).

Schaefer's two goals against the Canadiens on Thursday came 55 seconds apart, making him the first 18-year-old defenseman in history to score twice in under one minute; the last 18-year-old player to accomplish that feat was Sidney Crosby (two goals in 0:44 on Dec. 23, 2005). On Nov. 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Schaefer became the youngest defenseman in NHL history with a multigoal game, a mark previously held by Bobby Orr (18 years, 248 days) on Nov. 23, 1966.

Schaefer leads NHL rookies in average ice time (24:07; leads Islanders; 18th in entire NHL) this season and is second among defensemen in power-play goals (seven; behind Darren Raddysh's nine). Schaefer has 10 multipoint games this season, third in his class behind forwards Ivan Demidov and Beckett Sennecke (11 each); no other rookie defenseman has more than three such performances.

With the Islanders (35-21-5, 75 points) on a five-game winning streak and tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division, here are three underlying reasons Schaefer remains the front-runner for the Calder Trophy:

1. Skating speed

Schaefer leads NHL defensemen in both 20-plus mile per hour speed bursts (214) and 22-plus mph bursts (30) this season. In terms of 22-plus mph speed bursts, Schaefer ranks tied for fifth in the entire NHL behind Connor McDavid (112), Owen Tippett (39), Roope Hintz (33) and Nathan MacKinnon (32). 

Schaefer reached his max skating speed (23.09 mph) of the season against the Calgary Flames on Jan. 17 and ranks in the 96th percentile among defensemen in that category.

2. Goals, shots by location

Schaefer leads NHL rookies and ranks eighth among defensemen in shots on goal (146; tied for second-most among Islanders skaters behind Bo Horvat's 152) this season. Schaefer is second among defensemen in midrange goals (11) and tied for second in long-range goals (six), while his three high-danger goals are tied for fourth at the position.

He also ranks highly among defensemen in shots on goal from all three major shot location categories:

• High-danger shots on goal: 11 (96th percentile; just outside top 10 at position)
• Midrange shots on goal: 53 (99th percentile; fourth at position)
• Long-range shots on goal: 65 (95th percentile)

3. Skating distance

Schaefer became the first Islanders teenager to play 27:00 in a single game (27:40 against Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 25) since that statistic was first tracked in 1997-98. He has reached that mark nine times during his rookie season; only one other rookie has reached that mark at all this season (Alexander Nikishin; once).

Schaefer has been a workhorse so far in his NHL career, ranking fifth in the entire League in total skating distance (217.80 miles) and ninth among defensemen in power-play skating distance (27.63 miles). Schaefer also ranks highly at his position in power-play offensive zone time percentage (60.5 percent; 86th percentile).

Schaefer has been on the ice for 92 of the Islanders' 178 goals scored (51.7 percent) this season, the most on the team and most among NHL rookies. The Calder Trophy, awarded annually to the top rookie in the NHL, has never been won by defensemen in consecutive seasons during the League’s expansion era (since 1967-68). After Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson won the Calder last season, Schaefer has built a commanding lead in the race and is living up to lofty expectations early and often.