On the day Matthew Schaefer could have been celebrating his high school graduation, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft had an appointment that was close to his heart.
While in Buffalo for the NHL scouting combine earlier this month, the newest New York Islanders defenseman spent the day at the Western New York Compassion Connection. There, Schaefer shared his story with an audience of people between the ages of 7 and 17 who recently lost a loved one — a life experience that he’s still grieving through.
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As Schaefer’s NHL prospects rose in 2023 while he was playing for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League, his billet mom, Emily Matson, died by an apparent suicide. Months later, his mother, Jennifer, died following a two-year battle with breast cancer. The following December, Otters owner Jim Waters died unexpectedly of a heart attack.
That amount of tragedy in such a short time would be a lot for anyone, let alone a 16-year-old. But Schaefer was inspired by his mother’s fight, and he allowed it to push him forward, rather than holding him back in his journey to the NHL.
“My mindset has changed a lot with everything. Just seeing what my mom went through, having a smile on her face with cancer kind of trying to bring her down, but she wouldn’t let it,” Schaefer told reporters recently. “She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.”
Helping others through their grief
What Schaefer dealt with inspired him to assist other young people who might benefit from hearing from someone with a shared experience.
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“There’s young kids that are going through tough times,” Schaefer said. “A lot of people love to keep it in, and I want to try to put their minds at ease in any way. If love could have saved them, they would have lived forever. That’s a good saying I go by. But everything happens for a reason in life. Makes me super strong. And I want to help people.”
A lot goes into developing a professional hockey player, and Jennifer played a role beyond mother as Schaefer went about bettering himself away from the rink. It wasn’t odd to see her throw on the goalie pads and take shots from Schaefer and his brother, John.
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While Jennifer is no longer here, she’s not far from Schaefer’s mind when he’s shooting pucks in his basement. She’s there in spirit, he says, still trying to save her youngest son’s shots. When he misses the net, Schaefer says he credits his mom “because she’s probably blocker saving [them].”
Jennifer was also with Schaefer at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Friday, when he heard his name called first by the Islanders. Inside his custom suit jacket were family pictures featuring his mom.
Matthew Schaefer shows off pictures of his mother, Jennifer, inside his suit jacket ahead of the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles. Jennifer Schaefer died following a battle with breast cancer. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
(Bruce Bennett via Getty Images)
More obstacles on his way to becoming a top prospect
Schaefer’s draft year saw more challenges that he needed to overcome. He missed the Otters’ first nine games of the season after battling mononucleosis, and in December, he suffered a season-ending clavicle fracture while representing Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship.
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Despite playing only 17 games with Erie this past season, Schaefer scored seven goals and recorded 22 points. He had already played his way into being one of the 2025 NHL Draft’s top prospects after a six-point performance in August while helping lead Canada to a win at the U-18 Hlinka/Gretzky Cup.
Schaefer’s play, while in a limited sample, was enough to convince scouts and those around the NHL that he could become an impact player at the next level.
“He is the complete package playing a dynamic style that generates results and influences the outcome of games,” said Dan Marr, vice president of NHL central scouting. “Schaefer easily projects as a future All-Star in the NHL.”
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“He is consistent, mature, and has all of the tools to be a No. 1 defenseman in the NHL,” Chris Peters of FloHockey writes. “His skating is among the best in the class, and his hockey sense is right up there, too. Schaefer has been through a lot in his young life, but has met his challenges with grace well beyond his years. As a pick, he is not without risk, but there’s so much upside that teams have mostly dismissed the long absence and still view him as a potential long-term No. 1 defenseman at the top of his projection.”
Schaefer will turn 18 in September and, weeks later, will enter his first NHL training camp. He will be prepared for his next challenge — making the Islanders — and he will be inspired by his mom, who supported him on his road to a budding professional career.
“She’s always with me in spirit,” Schaefer said. “I know she has a front-row seat every game. I get to play for someone even more. She was a strong woman. I like to talk about her. If she was here, you guys would know exactly who she was, even though you haven’t met her, because I love talking about her.”
