TORONTO — Matthew Schaefer admitted he played through a bit of a sore stomach during his NHL homecoming in southern Ontario on Tuesday.
Whatever it was, the cause of the discomfort certainly wasn’t from nerves, given the way the rookie defenseman performed for the New York Islanders in a 3-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.
Playing in the same building where he used to cheer on the Leafs as a kid, Schaefer displayed the type of calm, cool and collectiveness that an 18-year-old shouldn’t have, especially in front of what he estimated to be up to 1,000 family, friends and acquaintances in the stands.
Then again, this is no ordinary teenager, in case you hadn’t noticed.
By the time the final horn sounded, Schaefer had led the Islanders in ice time at 22:57 and had the secondary assist on Calum Ritchie’s power-play goal in the first period, which ended up being the game-winner. Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, now has 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 68 games this season and continues to be the leading candidate to win the Calder Trophy as NHL’s rookie of the year.
“I had a little tummy ache out there, so, honestly, it was just so good to get the two points,” Schaefer said. “I mean, I just love playing hockey. Sometimes if you have a long shift, you just need a couple of deep breaths and kind of recoup.
“But then, once you’re ready to go you’re back out there.”
Twenty minutes later, Schaefer skated onto the same rink that the heroes of his youth had played on. He paused to look up at the stands, taking it all in as part of the special moment it truly was.
“To finally step onto that ice, that was awesome,” he said after the morning skate.
Schaefer’s comments came in front of a scrum of 20-plus reporters and several TV cameras. He handled it with the same poise with which he plays.
When asked about the prediction he’d made on Monday that an entourage of about 1,000 would be on hand for the game, he broke into a wry grin.
“Maybe I was pushing it a bit,” he said with a chuckle. “But there’s going to be a lot.”
There certainly were, which he found out firsthand during warmups.
“It was awesome, seeing so many friends and family in the stands and getting out there,” Schaefer said. “It’s pretty cool. It brings back memories of coming here as a kid with friends and things like that.”
One of the first familiar faces he spotted was Brady Scriven, who is the brother of Matthew’s best friend, Ryan. Brady is a goalie for the Brantford 99ers U12 AAA minor hockey team that Schaefer served as an honorary coach for during the Olympic break.
“I threw a puck up to Brady when I saw him, and everyone came up and tackled him because they’re all trying to get the puck,