Matthew Schaefer
17-Year-Old
2024 Stats
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2025 Projections
First pick overall at draft
Schaefer was the first overall pick by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft on Friday.
ANALYSIS
Schaefer is a thoroughbred on skates. His skating is sublime -- he controls transitions, leads the rush and then gets back in order to defend. Schaefer also closes gaps quickly, and he's both smart and mature. And he can play with an edge. Schaefer may have missed a lot of time this season with mononucleosis and a broken collarbone, but his progress in just 17 games played kept him at the top of this draft class and put him into the NHL record book -- he played the fewest games in his draft year of any No. 1 overall pick in modern NHL history. Throw out the Cale Makar comparables -- Makar is generational, but Schaefer will be a fantasy cornerstone if he can land somewhere in the triangle between Roman Josi, Miro Heiskanen and Rasmus Dahlin.
Schaefer is a thoroughbred on skates. His skating is sublime -- he controls transitions, leads the rush and then gets back in order to defend. Schaefer also closes gaps quickly, and he's both smart and mature. And he can play with an edge. Schaefer may have missed a lot of time this season with mononucleosis and a broken collarbone, but his progress in just 17 games played kept him at the top of this draft class and put him into the NHL record book -- he played the fewest games in his draft year of any No. 1 overall pick in modern NHL history. Throw out the Cale Makar comparables -- Makar is generational, but Schaefer will be a fantasy cornerstone if he can land somewhere in the triangle between Roman Josi, Miro Heiskanen and Rasmus Dahlin.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Top-rated skater
Schaefer is the top-rated North American skater by NHL Central Scouting ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft, Chris Johnston of The Athletic reports Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
Schaefer was limited to just 17 games with OHL Erie this season but made every game count, racking up 22 points, including seven goals. The 17-year-old should be a first-round lock heading into the 2025 NHL Draft and could even be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick. Still, fantasy players may want to temper expectations, as Schaefer will likely need a couple of years in the OHL to further develop, in addition to maturing even further in the minors.
Schaefer was limited to just 17 games with OHL Erie this season but made every game count, racking up 22 points, including seven goals. The 17-year-old should be a first-round lock heading into the 2025 NHL Draft and could even be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick. Still, fantasy players may want to temper expectations, as Schaefer will likely need a couple of years in the OHL to further develop, in addition to maturing even further in the minors.