Islanders’ rookie frontrunner for Calder Trophy, NHL insider says

New York Islanders star rookie Matthew Schaefer has gone from being the consensus number-one overall draft pick to the top pick for this season’s Calder Trophy.

A report in RG Media published on October 23 elucidated on this point. In the piece, an anonymous NHL executive spoke with Marco D’Amico, who had this to say about the Islanders’ remarkable 18-year-old blueliner:

“He’s been out of the world for the Islanders. If he continues this pace all season, he’s the front-runner for the Calder.”

Schaefer has already drawn comparisons to two former Norris Trophy winners in Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes. That’s high praise for a player who isn’t old enough to legally drink.

But the praise doesn’t stop there. The source continued:

“He’s just so smooth and already looks like the clear best defenseman on his team at 18 years old. There are so many details in his game that are going to make him an elite player for a long time.”

Of course, Matthew Schaefer is far from perfect. The source added this caveat regarding the Isles defenseman’s current performance:

“But there is still a bit of a fear that he may hit a wall this season due to how little hockey he’s played. He’s so talented, he just may overcome it, but it’s tough to be this good for a young defenseman so early.”

Indeed, there is a risk that Schaefer may see a ceiling this season. But given the early returns on his performance, there’s no indication, at least not now, that Schaefer could hit that proverbial wall.

Schaefers numbers with Islanders backing his Calder bid

When looking at Matthew Schaefer’s numbers, it’s easy to see why there’s so much hype surrounding his Calder bid.

Entering Thursday night’s action, Schaefer has two goals and five assists for seven points in six games. He’s already quarterbacking the top power play unit and has hardly looked overwhelmed this season.

He’s earned the confidence of coach Patrick Roy, a very tough coach to impress, leading to increased ice time. He played a season-high 26:35 minutes against the Winnipeg Jets on Oct 13 and hasn’t looked back.

Schaefer hit the ice against the Detroit Red Wings in his last outing, accruing 25:14 of ice time.

Those numbers paint the picture of a budding star gradually making his mark on the game. Barring injury (heaven forbid), Schaefer could play all 82 games this season. While there’s talk that the Islanders may let Schaefer play at the World Juniors in January, the fact is that Matthew Schaefer is a bona fide NHL defenseman at this point.