NY Islanders captain Anders Lee on Schaefer's rise and Palmieri's legendary assist

New York Islanders captain Anders Lee didn’t need much prompting to sum up the current Islanders experience during his Players' Only interview on NHL Network. There’s the good, which feels like a glimpse of the future arriving faster than expected. And then there’s the bad, the kind that reminds you how unforgiving this league can be.

On the good side is Matthew Schaefer, the first overall pick who has already become impossible to ignore. Lee spoke about Schaefer with the tone of a veteran who knows when something is different. “He’s a mature kid,” Lee said. “All the pressure that comes with being the first overall pick, it doesn’t even phase him. He just goes out there and plays.

That calm confidence has translated immediately. Lee noted that it didn’t take long in training camp to realize Schaefer was staying for good, but even that didn’t prepare the room for what followed. “For him to perform the way he has in his first 35 games in the NHL, it’s impressive,” Lee said. “It’s been a great turn of events for us as an organization… to bring him in and really help us change our team a little bit.”

Then the conversation shifted, and so did the mood. Lee reflected on the now-legendary sequence involving Kyle Palmieri, who suffered a torn ACL but still managed to make a play before getting to the bench. Lee, who has endured the same injury, spoke with a mix of awe and disbelief.

“I’ve been through that injury and I was not able to get up,” Lee said. “He goes down, finds his way up, and not only that, he makes a play. He doesn’t just toss the puck. He looks, throws some sauce on it.”

What stuck with Lee most wasn’t even the pass. “The fact that he got up and grabbed his stick,” Lee said. “None of that play happens if he doesn’t pick up his stick. That blows my mind.”

Palmieri is now beginning a long recovery, but in Lee’s eyes, the moment already carries weight beyond the box score. “If that’s going to be your last play of the season for a little bit,” Lee said, “it was a hell of a one.” For the Islanders, it perfectly captures the balance of promise and pain defining their season.