Andrew Gross: Matthew Schaefer returns to LA, where Islanders made him the No. 1 overall pick
Matthew Schaefer after being drafted first overall by the Islanders in the NHL Draft at the Peacock Theater on June 27, 2025 in Los Angeles. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
LOS ANGELES — The last time Matthew Schaefer strolled through the LA Live entertainment complex, his life and the Islanders’ fortunes were about to radically change.
The Islanders, of course, selected the then-17-year-old defenseman first overall in the NHL Draft on June 27, and there were so many memorable images of Schaefer on that day.
He walked to the Peacock Theater with his father, Todd, and his brother, Johnny, wearing an impeccably tailored black-and-white houndstooth suit with pictures of his late mother, Jennifer, attached to the inner lining. And for all of his aplomb, there were the tears that flowed as he kissed the ribbon the Islanders respectfully placed on his jersey to honor her passing from breast cancer in February 2024.
Nine months later, on Thursday night, Schaefer made his first trip back to Los Angeles. The Islanders, staying at a hotel across the street from where Schaefer bunked for the draft, continued a four-game road trip against the Kings at Crypto.com Arena, next door to the Peacock Theater.
“It was just such a great experience,” Schaefer told Newsday after the Islanders opened the trip with a 5-1 loss in Anaheim on Wednesday night. “Obviously, this is the league you want to play in and that’s just a dream come true to get drafted in the league. But you know, the work doesn’t stop after the draft. It’s a good stepping stone in the process and it was a pretty cool moment. But once that’s over, you just want to get on the ice and work as hard as you can. For me, it was making the team.”
Wednesday’s loss just reinforced to Schaefer that this trip to Los Angeles was no stroll down memory lane.
“The draft? No, not really,” Schaefer said when asked if he would be recalling moments from that experience. “I’ll remember a little bit of the area, but besides that, we’re going for two points. We want to win a game.”
Matthew Schaefer after being drafted first overall by the Islanders in the NHL Draft at the Peacock Theater on June 27, 2025 in Los Angeles. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
Schaefer quickly developed into a top-pair defenseman and power-play quarterback. His 20 goals leave him three short of Brian Leetch’s NHL record for a rookie defenseman, and each goal he scores adds to his NHL record for an 18-year-old defenseman. On Monday, he was named the NHL’s first star of the week after notching four goals and an assist in the first three games after the Olympic break.
General manager Mathieu Darche knew he was getting a very good player in Schaefer, but nobody could have predicted how swiftly he’s become a special player at his age.
In the lead-up to the NHL Draft, Darche would not publicly commit to taking Schaefer, even though the choice was privately clear to the organization.
Still, there was modest speculation on draft day that the Islanders might opt for center Michael Misa, who went second to the Sharks. Or even Hauppauge’s James Hagens, who went seventh to the Bruins after Darche’s efforts to acquire another first-round pick to take the local product were unsuccessful.
Matthew Schaefer puts on an Islanders sweater as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman looks on after being drafted by the Islanders with the number one overall pick at the Peacock Theater on June 27, 2025 in Los Angeles. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
That the Islanders were in position to draft Schaefer was the result of miraculously winning the draft lottery despite having only a 3.5% chance of doing so.
“I’ve been very lucky,” Darche said just before the draft. “[Schaefer] is an impressive young man. And he’s a heck of a player. He’s a great person. But, having said that, there’s a lot of other kids at the draft that we met that are very impressive.”
Watching the preternaturally mature Schaefer handle all that was thrown at him on draft day, the myriad of interviews and congratulatory calls and all of the emotions of going through the day without his mother, immediately cemented the notion the Islanders had hit a draft-day home run.
Schaefer said on draft day that he usually doesn’t cry as much as his father or brother, but the ribbon the Islanders placed on the jersey was just too meaningful. His father called it “a respect thing.”
“It just took me to a different level of emotions,” Todd Schaefer said that day. “It was so important for him. He wanted his mom here so much. He has his belief system. He believes she’s right beside him.”
Matthew Schaefer was replaying none of that as he prepared to face the Kings.
Still, June 27 stands as one of the most impactful days not only in his life but in the Islanders’ history.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
