The Latest York Islanders are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. While a defeat on home ice isn’t an enjoyable experience for fans, they did witness history with their rookie phenom, as Matthew Schaefer continues the historic begin to his profession.
Based on Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News, Schaefer became just the fourth 18-year-old defenseman to amass eight or more points in consecutive months. He joins Rasmus Dahlin in 2019, Aaron Ekblad from 2014-2015, and Phil Housley from 1982-1983. Ekblad and Housley would extend their streaks to a few consecutive months.
In the primary period against the Bruins, Schaefer can be credited with an assist on a Mathew Barzal goal, giving him his eighth point of the month of November. It could be the one goal of the night for the Islanders within the 3-1 final.
Schaefer was the primary overall selection within the 2025 NHL Draft and was invited to camp, with the concept the front office would evaluate the young talent early within the season.
“It’s funny because all summer I kept telling his agent, ‘You recognize what, let’s stay open-minded here, he only played 17 games last yr, the choice of going back to junior continues to be there,’” Islanders general manager Mathieu Darche told the NHL’s @TheRink podcast earlier this week.
“From the beginning, my mind was ‘let’s bring him to camp, he will play preseason games, he will play initially of the season, we’ll evaluate from there.’”
The rookie blue liner didn’t take long to impress the front office. He began his profession with points in his first six games, ending the month of October by finding the back of the web thrice and meting out five assists. The success continued in November. Schaefer began the month with a two-goal game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He now has 4 goals and 4 assists this month.
It’s secure to say that Schaefer won’t be going back to playing junior hockey anytime soon. As an alternative, he’s a part of a Latest York team that’s making a legitimate playoff push in 2025-26.
The Islanders are 13-9-2 on the campaign, sitting tied for third within the Metropolitan Division. Schaefer will get a likelihood to tally his ninth point of November on Friday because the Isles host the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena.