Brayden Schenn had played in the Western Conference all year and thus, didn’t quite realize what the Islanders had in Matthew Schaefer.
Tony DeAngelo hadn’t paid attention to the draft, joking he knew more about the Russian prospects than the North American ones.
Adam Pelech had trained with Schaefer a little bit over the summer, so he had a pretty good idea that there wasn’t much question Schaefer would make the team, or even that he would contribute right away.
But no one truly knew what he was going to do this season, and what he would come to mean to the Islanders so soon into his career.
“Being completely honest, you think you’re signing up for a guy that’s just gonna be an offensive rover that is dynamic,” Schenn said at breakup day last week. “He does that. But I can’t believe the way he defends and how much he cares, he wants to win. When you see that from an 18-year-old, this organization’s in a special spot for a long time because of him. Guys around the league are gonna gravitate towards this organization because it is that good.”
The Islanders’ season must be judged a failure because of the way they crashed out of a playoff spot, losing 10 of their last 14 to finish a second straight season in the lottery. The franchise’s long-term fortunes, though, could not have turned more positively over the last year, and so much of it because of Schaefer, whose wondrous season made it seem like the sky is the limit for his career.
Schaefer set record after record. He finished the season with 23 goals — tied for the most by a rookie defenseman in league history — and 59 points. He is a runaway favorite for the Calder Trophy — the only question is whether he wins it unanimously.
To fully understand his impact on the Islanders, though, you have to understand his personality, too.
So start with his answer on breakup day when asked what he learned about himself this season:
“I think I’ve always wanted sisters,” Schaefer said.
That would be a reference to Matt Martin’s family. The former Islander and current assistant to Mathieu Darche and his wife Sydney Esiason Martin took in Schaefer this season — and it sounds like doing so again next year is very much in the cards. Schaefer quickly got close with their twin daughters.
“I think the only people that really bossed me around are those two girls,” Schaefer said. “They kind of own me in a way. Whether it’s painting nails, going out to play, they’re yelling at me and stuff. And then I always kiss up to them and I’m like, ‘OK, I’ll come. I’ll come.’ ”
His effervescence and ease seemed to seep through the whole organization, at least when things were going well this season. Though it’s unlikely to be soon, it’s obvious that Schaefer will be the Islanders’ captain eventually.
Long term, the impact he can have on the Islanders seems comparable to the way Sidney Crosby changed the Penguins. Indeed, here’s how one of Crosby’s teammates talked about him toward the end of his rookie season.
“He’s one of the best players in the league right now, at 18,” Ryan Whitney said at the time, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “You can only imagine what he’ll be like four years down the road.”
Four years later, Crosby was a Stanley Cup champion, a Hart Trophy winner and an Olympic gold medalist.
Different versions of the same quote were dotted throughout the Islanders’ season. Again and again it came up on breakup day.
Anders Lee: “It felt like he had the league figured out in a way.”
Cal Ritchie: “I mean, he’s not really a rookie.”
Mat Barzal: “My whole career I’ve been jealous of Colorado [with Cale Makar] and Quinn Hughes in Vancouver. To finally have our guy, it’s huge.”
Eighty-two games into his career, there’s still so much untapped potential, too. Schaefer can put on more muscle, better equip himself to get through the rigors of a long season. As good as he was this season, his age means he’s still got years left to improve all facets of his game. Four years from now, he’ll only be entering his physical peak.
It’s all but guaranteed that Hockey Canada will ask Schaefer to play at the World Championships next month in Switzerland, and he sounded open to doing so at breakup day. Otherwise, it’ll be a light summer, at least in comparison to a year ago.
“I was all over the place last summer and I couldn’t stay at home for a week, at least,” Schaefer said. “It’ll be a good summer because there’s lots of things I want to get better at. Just off the ice being able to get stronger. I’m pretty skinny so the more I eat, the more I can get in the gym and work out, I think the better for me.
“So it’ll be a really good summer for me being able to go back, take a break, see family, friends, maybe go on a little vacation. But then you get training and you’re focused on next season. And a lot of things you want to accomplish as a team next season.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
