Matthew Schaefer
{{Short description|Canadian ice hockey player (born 2007)}}
{{About|the ice hockey player|the politician|Matt Schaefer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox ice hockey biography
| name = Matthew Schaefer
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|2007|9|5}}
| birth_place = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lb = 183
| position = Defence
| shoots = Left
| league = OHL
| team = Erie Otters
| prospect_team =
| prospect_league =
| former_teams =
| ntl_team =
| draft = 1st overall
| draft_year = 2025
| draft_team = New York Islanders
| career_start =
| career_end =
}}
Matthew Schaefer (born September 5, 2007) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Schaefer was selected first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2025 NHL entry draft.{{Cite news |last=Pronman |first=Corey |date=2025-03-11 |title=2025 NHL Draft ranking: Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa lead Pronman's March top 32 list |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6174550/2025/03/11/nhl-draft-2025-ranking-schaefer-misa-pronman/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite web |title=NHL Draft Prospects Rankings {{!}} NHL.com |url=https://www.nhl.com/draft/prospects |access-date=2025-03-14 |website=www.nhl.com |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2025-03-12 |title=2025 NHL Mock Draft: Mid-March, Post-Trade Deadline Full Two-Round Projections - Bleacher Nation |url=https://www.bleachernation.com/blackhawks/2025/03/12/2025-nhl-mock-draft-mid-march-post-trade-deadline-full-two-round-projections/ |access-date=2025-03-14 |language=en-US}}
Playing career
Playing at the under-16 level for the Halton Hurricanes of the South-Central Triple A Hockey League in 2022–23, Schaefer recorded 12 goals and 32 points in 25 games, earning player of the year honours.{{cite web |last1=Henry |first1=Jordan |title=2023 U16 AAA Player of the Year Awards |url=https://chl.ca/ohlcup/2023-u16-aaa-player-of-the-year-awards/ |publisher=Canadian Hockey League |access-date=October 3, 2024 |date=April 3, 2023}} Following the season, he was selected first overall in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the Erie Otters. He became the third first overall pick in Otters history, after Ryan O'Reilly and Connor McDavid.{{cite web |last1=Copper |first1=Mike |title=Matthew Schaefer joins O'Reilly, McDavid as Erie Otters' No. 1 overall picks in OHL draft |url=https://www.goerie.com/story/sports/nhl/otters/2023/04/20/erie-otters-to-pick-matthew-schaefer-no-1-overall-in-ohl-draft/70136625007/ |website=Erie Times-News |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=April 20, 2023}} In May 2023, he signed a contract with the Otters, committing to play for the team beginning that fall.{{cite web |last1=Scheig |first1=Mark |title=Erie Otters: Get to Know Matthew Schaefer & Wesley Royston |url=https://thehockeywriters.com/erie-otters-get-to-know-matthew-schaefer-wesley-royston/ |website=The Hockey Writers |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=May 24, 2023}}
Early in his rookie OHL season, the 2023–24 season, Schaefer scored his first goal on October 12, 2023, a power play goal against the Niagara IceDogs.{{cite web |last1=Stockl |first1=Joely |title=A Look Back at the Top 3 from the 2023 OHL Priority Selection |url=https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/players/a-look-back-at-the-top-3-from-the-2023-ohl-priority-selection |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=January 16, 2024}} As the backbone of an Otters defense group that The Hockey News described as "bleak," Schaefer was leaned upon heavily but managed the transition from minor hockey to the OHL smoothly.{{cite web |last1=Stockl |first1=Joely |title=An Updated Look at the 2023 OHL Draft Class & the 2007 Age Group; Picks #1-5 |url=https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/players/an-updated-look-at-the-2023-ohl-draft-class-the-2007-age-group-picks-1-5 |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 3, 2024 |date=February 10, 2024}} He would finish the year with three goals and 17 points in 56 games, earning first team all-rookie honors.{{cite web |last1=Vickers |first1=Aaron |title=Schaefer ready to 'put the work boots on' ahead of 2025 NHL Draft |url=https://www.nhl.com/news/matthew-schaefer-ready-to-work-ahead-of-2025-nhl-draft |publisher=National Hockey League |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=August 4, 2024}} His impressive rookie season came in the face of significant personal struggles, as both his mother and his billet mother died during the season.
Schaefer began the 2024–25 season sick with mononucleosis, missing nine games before getting clearance to play.{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Ken |title=Matthew Schaefer Begins His Quest For No. 1 Overall In The 2025 NHL Draft |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/matthew-schaefer-to-begin-his-quest-for-no-1-overall-in-the-2025-nhl-draft |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 23, 2024 |date=October 23, 2024}} In January 2025, not long after sustaining a broken collarbone at the 2025 World Junior Championships, he was named the top North American skater on NHL Central Scouting Bureau's midterm rankings. Despite missing the remainder of the season, Schaefer received the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award in advance of the 2025 NHL entry draft, having recorded seven goals and 15 assists in 17 games played.{{Cite web |title=Gavin McKenna becomes the third-youngest to earn CHL Player of the Year honours as the league’s top talent is celebrated at the 2025 CHL Awards |url=https://chl.ca/article/gavin-mckenna-becomes-the-third-youngest-to-earn-chl-player-of-the-year-honours-as-the-leagues-top-talent-is-celebrated-at-the-2025-chl-awards/ |last=Séguin |first=Christopher |date=June 13, 2025 |access-date=June 13, 2025 |website=Canadian Hockey League }}
International play
{{MedalTableTop|name=no}}
{{MedalCountry|{{ih18|CAN}}}}
{{MedalSport|Men's ice hockey}}
{{MedalCompetition|World U18 Championship}}
{{MedalGold|2024 Finland|}}
{{MedalCompetition|Hlinka Gretzky Cup}}
{{MedalGold|2024 Canada|}}
{{MedalBottom}}
Representing Ontario at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, Schaefer, as the team's captain, scored a game-winning goal in overtime of the finals to secure a 3–2 victory over Saskatchewan and a gold medal. Later that year, he would win gold with the Canadian under-17 team at the 2023 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, again as captain.{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=Steven |title=Meet Matthew Schaefer, the top (early) defenseman for the 2025 NHL Draft |url=https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/news/meet-matthew-schaefer-the-top-early-defenseman-for-the-2025-nhl-draft |website=Daily Faceoff |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=August 7, 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Jared |title=Otters Defenseman Matthew Schaefer Named Team Canada Captain for the Hlinka Gretzky Cup |url=https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/latest-news/otters-defenseman-matthew-schaefer-named-team-canada-captain-for-the-hlinka-gretzky-cup |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=August 5, 2024}}
At the 2024 World U18 Championship, Schaefer and Team Canada went undefeated to a gold medal finish.{{cite web |title=#TheMoment a rising hockey star turned tragedy into triumph |url=https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.4220891 |website=CBC News |access-date=October 2, 2024}} Although overshadowed by fellow underage player Gavin McKenna and his 20 points at the event, Schaefer was also a standout, averaging just under 18 minutes a night including power play and penalty kill deployment and scoring one goal and five points in seven games.
Schaefer was the Canadian captain at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where his standout play was a driving force behind the Canadians claiming the gold medal.{{cite web |last1=Ferrari |first1=Tony |title=Hlinka Gretzky Cup: Schaefer and Ivankovic Lead Tournament Standouts as Canada Wins Gold |url=https://thehockeynews.com/news/hlinka-gretzky-cup-schaefer-and-ivankovic-lead-tournament-standouts-as-canada-wins-gold |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=August 11, 2024}} He opened the tournament with two goals in a 10–0 blowout victory against Switzerland, adding four assists over the rest of the event to finish with six points.{{cite web |last1=Bukala |first1=Jason |title=An early ranking of top 10 prospects for 2025 NHL Draft |url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/an-early-ranking-of-the-top-10-prospects-for-2025-nhl-draft/ |website=Sportsnet |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=August 22, 2024}}
After scoring a goal and assist in the first game of the 2025 World Junior Championships, Schaefer suffered a broken collarbone in the following match, a 3–2 upset loss to Latvia.{{cite web |last1=Clipperton |first1=Joshua |title=Canadian defenceman Matthew Schaefer out for rest of world juniors due to injury |url=https://globalnews.ca/news/10935298/matthew-schaefer-canada-injury-world-juniors/ |publisher=Global News |access-date=18 January 2025}}{{cite web |last1=McCarthy |first1=Rowan |title=Matthew Schaefer Named Top North American Prospect In NHL Central Scouting Mid-Term Rankings |url=https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/latest-news/matthew-schaefer-named-top-north-american-prospect-in-nhl-central-scouting-mid-term-rankings |website=The Hockey News |access-date=January 18, 2025 |date=January 14, 2025}}
Personal life
Matthew Schaefer is the younger son of Todd and Jennifer Schaefer. His older brother Johnny, like him, played in the Ontario Hockey League. His mother died of breast cancer in February 2024, less than three months after his billet mother Emily Matson was struck and killed by a train in an apparent suicide.{{cite web |last1=Campbell |first1=Ken |title=Light feet, heavy heart: The tragic story of a rising hockey star and two unfathomable losses |url=https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/light-feet-heavy-heart-the-tragic-story-of-a-rising-hockey-star-and-two-unfathomable/article_fdb7a16e-07c9-11ef-9316-df7d141e4347.html |website=Toronto Star |access-date=October 2, 2024 |date=May 18, 2024 |url-access=limited}}
Career statistics
= Regular season and playoffs =
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em;" | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="94" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="94" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs | ||||||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||||||
| 2023–24
| OHL | 56 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 16
| 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2024–25 | Erie Otters | OHL | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 8
| — | — | — | — | — |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3"|OHL totals ! 73 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 24
! 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
= International =
| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" ID="Table3" style="text-align:center; width:40em;" | ||||
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! Year ! Team ! Event ! Result ! rowspan="101" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM | ||||
| 2023
| Canada White | U17 | {{gold1}} | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2024 | Canada | U18 | {{gold1}} | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024
| Canada | HG18 | {{gold1}} | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 2025 | Canada | WJC | 5th | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="4"|Junior totals ! 22 !! 5 !! 12 !! 17 !! 8 |
Awards and honours
| class="wikitable"
! Award ! Year ! Ref |
| colspan="3"|CHL |
|---|
| CHL Top Draft Prospect Award
| 2025 |
| colspan="3"|OHL |
| First All-Rookie Team
| 2024 | {{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Jared |title=OHL Announces 2023-24 All-Star & All-Rookie Teams |url=https://thehockeynews.com/ohl/latest-news/ohl-announces-2023-24-all-star-all-rookie-teams |website=The Hockey News |access-date=October 3, 2024 |date=May 29, 2024}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{ice hockey stats|elite=889671|hockeydb=271150}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ach}}
{{succession box | before = Macklin Celebrini | title = NHL first overall draft pick | years = 2025 | after = Incumbent}}
{{succession box | before = Cole Eiserman | title = New York Islanders first round pick | years = 2025 | after = Victor Eklund}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaefer, Matthew}}
Category:21st-century Canadian sportsmen
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:First overall NHL draft picks
Category:Ice hockey people from Hamilton, Ontario