Matthew Schaefer becomes just the second defenseman in NY Islanders history to reach this historic milestone

Since Matthew Schaefer began his NHL career with his hair on fire, the immediate comparisons in terms of the NY Islanders were to Denis Potvin. At the time, it was just speculation regarding how good he could actually become, but five months later, those speculations are already becoming a reality.

As good as Schaefer has been all season, he’s arguably playing his best hockey right now. With seven goals in his last eight games and four goals in the three games since the Olympic break, the rookie phenom has reached 20 goals on the season, making him only the second Islanders defenseman to accomplish the feat, joining Potvin.

Potvin, one of the greatest defensemen in the history of the game, topped the 20-goal mark nine times, reaching 30 on three occasions, with a high of 31.

With 21 games remaining, though unlikely, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that Schaefer could reach 30 himself.

With the current run of goals for Schaefer, he’s put himself up there with the NHL’s elite, currently tied for second in goals among all defensemen, tied with Zach Werenski, trailing only Jakob Chychrun, who has 22. 

The Islanders’ faithful serenaded their record-breaking rookie phenom after his second goal of the night, with Schaefer’s name being chanted from the rafters.

"Hey, if I wasn't playing a game, I'd be smiling and super happy,” Schaefer said. “But I got to stay dialed in as much as I can. But when I hear that with the crowd, that gets me super fired up, and it's so fun. I want to score every night."

The sky is the limit for this kid. Sometimes there’s nothing else to do but laugh at the things he’s accomplishing at 18 years old.