EAST MEADOW, NY — Matthew Schaefer made the New York Islanders roster, a surprise to absolutely nobody who’s been around him since he heard his name called first at the 2025 NHL Draft.
The excitement is in the air, but for the mature 18-year-old, he’s trying to focus on the task at hand — winning a hockey game on Thursday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“You want to take it day-by-day. You get drafted for a reason, and then you just want to go out, you want to forget about the media and stuff, and just go play your game,” Schaefer said following Tuesday’s skate. “So I think every step of the way was a good step in the right direction, from the draft to preseason to now. I want to keep getting better. I want to keep working on things. But, I mean, it’s a dream come true. It’s the game of hockey, and you know, now the work starts. So I can’t wait to get started.”
No. 1 Overall Pick Matthew Schaefer to Start Season With Islanders
New York Islanders No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer has made the team. The 18-year-old had his rookie moment throughout preseason, but there’s no question his best development path is at the NHL level.
Schaefer will have a ton of people in attendance in Pittsburgh.
“My dad, brother, and his girlfriend [are coming]. And then there’s, like, a couple of my buddies from school and their parents are coming down,” Schaefer said. “One of my best friends from hockey when I played when I was younger, his family’s coming down. And there’s gonna be a lot of people, and then I think they’re gonna make the trip to opening night, too. So, I mean, it should be good, but I mean, like I said, I’ll be dialed into the game, so I won’t be worrying about any of that.”
The Islanders would love to see Schaefer play to the best of his abilities, but head coach Patrick Roy wants him to focus on one thing and one thing only.
“Have fun,” Roy said. “I know how special it will be for him, because it was very special for me when I started my career, and it’s funny because it was in Pittsburgh. My first start of my career was in Pittsburgh, and same thing for him. So happy for him. He deserves it. He played hard, practiced hard, so it’s the beginning of a new journey for him and for the Islanders organization.”
Schaefer has thought about what his debut is going to look like but is really just trying to remained focused on the objective.
“It’s gonna be pretty cool,” Schaefer said. “I mean, obviously, I’ve been playing in the NHL and playing against guys like that, but when you get on the ice, you just gotta zone it out. I mean, everyone’s out there to play hockey. I mean, you really don’t think about who you’re going up against. Obviously, you’ve got to know what kind of style they play, like a little faster, all that stuff. But I think just going out there, putting your head down, working through it, and just working is going to be the big thing. I don’t want to go out there and just be like, Oh, I’m going up against him. It’s just hockey, right? So you want to go out there and work as hard as you can. And, you know, just forget about who is on the ice.”
Puck drops on Thursday night at 7:30 PM at PPG Paints Arena. Fans can watch the game on MSGSN.
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