NY Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer skates away with the quarter-season Calder Trophy

We're just past the quarter mark of the 2025-26 season, as rookies are beginning to establish themselves in the NHL.

With young players playing more crucial roles in today’s game, teenagers are expected to produce almost immediately, and that’s just what NY Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer has done.

Schaefer takes the quarter-season Calder Trophy

The question immediately surrounding Schaefer was whether he could stick in the NHL for a full season. Then it became, how much can he produce? Now the only question is, how high is his ceiling?

NHL.com polled 16 of their writers using a 5-4-3-2-1 system to determine their quarter-season Calder Trophy winner, with Schaefer running away with the award totalling 80 points, followed by Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens (57) and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks (34).

"I know he only played 17 games last year, and this season there were questions on if he'd be able to stay in the NHL as a 17-year-old turning 18,” NHL Central Scouting associate director David Gregory told Mike Morreale of NHL.com. “But after you get to know the kid, you realize nothing's going to stop him, and he's not going to be denied. It's been tremendous watching him."

Receiving a first-place vote from each writer, Schaefer’s impact on the Islanders has been undeniable, becoming one of the league's darlings on and off the ice. 

Schaefer is currently third among all rookies with 15 points, is tied for most goals with seven, and is blowing all other rookies out of the water in TOI, averaging 23 minutes - 3:24 minutes more than Alexander Nikishin, who is second.

With three-quarters of a season still left to play, Schaefer can continue building on his strong start, as he is developing into one of the NHL’s top blue liners at just 18 years old.