The Latest York Islanders made Matthew Schaefer the primary overall pick within the 2025 NHL Draft. Ideally, his making an impact in two years can be successful. Doing so in his rookie campaign is preferred, in fact, but there is a learning curve. Nonetheless, the run Schaefer is currently on is the thing teams dream of on draft night.
Schaefer scored his seventh goal of the season on Friday night against the Utah Mammoth. He ripped a shot off a brief pass from Mat Barzal. The puck found its well past Mammoth goalie Karel Vejmelka to finish the competition in additional time.
This goal is one other piece of NHL history for the young Islanders defenseman. He becomes the youngest player to attain an additional time goal in league history, in keeping with NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. Schaefer (18 years, 70 days old) surpassed future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby (18 years, 101 days) along with his marker on Friday night.
The Islanders rookie is having an incredible begin to his NHL profession. In reality, his seven goals are probably the most by any defenseman within the NHL this 12 months. Furthermore, he’s on pace to smash the rookie record for goals. Brian Leetch owns the record with 23 goals, while Schaefer is on pace for 32.
Latest York has now won three straight games. At this point, they own the highest Wild Card spot within the Eastern Conference. Also they are inside striking distance of a Metropolitan Division playoff spot. It’s definitely early to be discussing playoffs. But Schaefer’s continued impact could have Latest York surprising teams in 2025-26.