NY Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer breaks record of Boston Bruins legend

Another game, more milestones for New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer — that's becoming a regular occurrence. The 18-year-old defenseman not only recorded his first career two-goal game in the Islanders’ dramatic win over Columbus, but also made NHL history in the process.

With five goals on the season, Schaefer now leads all NHL defensemen in goals, surpassing stars like Dougie Hamilton, Cale Makar, and Zach Werenski. After the game, the locker room awarded Schaefer the Iron Man mask, the team’s player-of-the-game honor, while fans at UBS Arena chanted his name after he was announced as the first star of the game.

The rookie’s accomplishments are piling up fast. Schaefer became the fastest defenseman selected No. 1 overall to reach 10 career points (12 games), breaking Aaron Ekblad’s mark of 15. He also became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to record a multi-goal game, surpassing legendary Boston Bruins defenseman Bobby Orr’s record set in 1966.

At 18 years and 58 days, Schaefer is now the third-youngest player in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to score two goals in a game — trailing only Jordan Staal and Pierre Turgeon. For the Islanders, it’s becoming clear: their future franchise cornerstone isn’t just holding his own — he’s already leading the way.

Expectations were high, but Schaefer has blown past them all. He's not only playing like a regular NHLer at 18-years-old, he's playing as a NHL All Star and someone that looks like a future superstar that can lead a franchise out of the mediocrity and into becoming a Stanley Cup contender.