Why the NY Islanders have hockey’s most valuable building block

Let’s just get this out of the way: if 32 NHL general managers were dropped into a make-believe fantasy draft and told to build their franchise from scratch, there’s a good chance most of them would start by saying the same name — Matthew Schaefer.

Yeah, that’s right. An 18-year-old New York Islanders defenseman who hasn’t even played 20 NHL games yet might already be the most valuable building block in hockey. And no, that’s not Long Island bias talking. That’s logic, mixed with a little bit of belief.

Think about it — age, contract, ceiling. Schaefer checks every box. He’s not just good; he’s a unicorn. You can find elite forwards — McDavid, MacKinnon, Draisaitl — but they’re in their mid-to-late 20s, expensive, and already at or near their peak. Schaefer? He’s barely old enough to rent a car, makes league minimum, and already plays like one of the best defensemen in the league. So, while you certainly understand that taking the names as mentioned earlier is the fastest way to build a competitive, playoff team, would it be the best way to build something lasting?

On defense, sure, Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes are freaks of nature. But if you’re building for the next decade, wouldn’t you take the guy who could be them — only younger, cheaper, and somehow still improving every single game? Even the other young stars — Macklin Celebrini, Cutter Gauthier, Will Smith, whoever you want to name — don’t bring what Schaefer does. He tilts the ice, controls tempo, kills plays before they start, and somehow looks like he’s playing half-speed while everyone else scrambles to catch up.

The best part? He’s not even close to done growing. The confidence, the hockey IQ, the poise — it already has flashes of elite status. And every night, it gets a little better.

So yeah, in a fantasy draft of today’s NHL, you can keep your Hart and Norris trophy winners. I think Islanders fans and many GMs around the league would take the 18-year-old defenseman in blue and orange — because he’s not just the future of the Islanders. He might be the future of the league.