Islanders’ top pick Matthew Schaefer sets sights on NHL roster spot. Can the 18-year-old phenom make the leap to the big leagues this season?
Gil Martin analyzes Schaefer’s NHL readiness and the Islanders’ development strategy. The discussion covers potential trade scenarios for veterans like JG Pageau and Anders Lee, plus a detailed scouting report on 16th overall pick Victor Eklund. Martin also highlights former goalie Evgeni Nabokov’s impact during his New York tenure.
Tune in for expert insights on the Islanders’ roster moves and how they could reshape the team’s future in the competitive NHL landscape.
All this and more on today’s Locked On Islanders Podcast with Gil Martin.
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25 Comments
If everyone is pushing for Shaefer to take another season to “develop further” instead of going straight into the NHL as the FIRST OVERALL PICK, then he shouldn’t have gone as the FIRST OVERALL PICK, just saying.
Gil there is also the endurance factor, he only played 17 games, by the time game number 30 he may be wiped out. It happened to Jefferies this season, first part of season he was fine , second half not so fine…
Don’t Rush, there’s no emergency for him to start this season, LGI !!! Thanks Gil 👍🏼
It is a simple decision..he does not belong in the NHL this year! Let him go to college for 1 season.
He’s not even 18 yet. But number 1 overall picks are NHL bound. May be tough for Islanders to postpone his debut. Even though that may be best course.
Good 🌄, Gil. How are you? Matthew Schaffer is determined to play in the NHL. He also can't wait to play for Patrick Roy. But can he hold his own against players who are BIGGER, BADDER. AND WAY MEANER THAN HIM? THAT REMAINS TO BE 👀. Victor Eklund. He's 18 years old, he's 5'11 161 lbs, a 16th Pick in the 1st round. He's got a little more growing to do. He's like to take chances, he's creative. He's got a brother who plays for the 🦈. He's got potential to be a top line player. HAPPY 🎂, Evgainey Nobokov. He made 41 saves in shut out over the Blue Jackets. Hear from you later, Gil. ⏲️ to finish 👀 Game 5 of the 81 Finals. So far, the key moment, Butch Goring and Wayne Merrick scored 51 seconds apart. Also, when the Islanders have their 🏡 opener against the Capitals on October 11, it will be 50 years to the day that Bryan Trottier made his debut at the Coliseum with a hat trick and 2 helpers. Wouldn't it be ironic if that happened again? Now, LET'S GO, ISLANDERS.
NCAA is best route
I would much perfer a year in college for him too. However if in camp pre season he shows real promise n is 5-10 lbs heavier than prospect camp then maybe start in those 9 games. I liked Isiah George alot at prospect camp and he looked very ready. Maybe they platoon for the 3rd allowing each time to grow and also not burn out too quickly. If all goes great maybe they trade Pellech at the deadline. A year in Jrs is probably safer but will he develop like he would in college? Maybe part time NHL is better than OHL for growth? We shall see. Going to be fun to watch. LGI
Very determined young man, gleaming with confidence and determination! Hope he succeeds! LGI
Hagens is not going to pull a Fox. Just a fantasy that isles fans concocted. Most of Hagens’ comments were him trying to get us to take him at 1. I’m sure he will come here eventually, but not in the near future. He seemed very happy being taken by Boston, imo that seems like it was probably his second pick after the isles. Unless he becomes a massive disappointment or busts, I don’t seem him leaving Boston any time soon.
Don't rush the kid. Due to injury he had a small sample size of games played last season. Slow and steady wins the race. The kid needs to understand he has to be the tortoise, not the hare.
Huge mistake if they dont send him to college first.
You dont want him to have a bad year in the NHL. When a year in college and a great year of growth and success is possible. Makes absolutely no sense. If Schafer cant be diference in the NHL then they should send him to college where he can be. Rediculous we are even discussing this.
Schaefer will be fine in the NHL…. He is determined to succeed. He has the heart ♥️ of a Lion. He has nothing to make him better in the juniors. Schaefer should be paired with Pulock and see what happens in 9 games. Does he look out of place? I don’t see a problem giving Schaefer 15 to 18 minutes a game. I don’t see juniors as a way to advance his development. With a better defensive coach in Bob Schaefer will develop. If there is any way to Trade Pelech that would save cap space and open the left side. Pelech is hurt every year and is lucky to be a 3 rd line D. A prospect or a draft pick for Pelech would be a bonus.
Max will face the Judge on July 29 th unless a deal is struck.
Let him play another season and get stronger. Why burn a year when we r not winning the cup anyway. Yes he will gain experience, but it also can destroy his confidence. Nothing wrong with being patient.
Hopefully Hagens has more class than Tavares had.
Agreed Gil I've been saying the same thing. At the trade deadline you take diminished value because you're backed up into a corner particularly if the other team knows that you're not gonna re-sign the player or the player doesn't want to resign in either case but even if that is not the case there's still a chance that either happens when free agency happens so you risk losing them for nothing so again backed up into a corner. And that's if everything goes perfectly and their production doesn't drop off or they don't get injured or both.
Also I think there's a little bit of a narrative out there that if they're in a playoff spot during the regular season that JG would tip that balance and you don't trade him if you're in the playoffs because then everything would crumble which I think is a little bit ridiculous. I don't think the team would be significantly worse without JG even though he does some good things that aren't on the for front of the stat sheet like faceoffs which is important but again I think that's a little ridiculous. Plus Richie can and would take his spot, and as you said, right now, it looks like we may or don't have enough room for Richie, so we're minimally worse, if at all, in the short term, if we don't get an impact player in return which we may and hopefully we do even if he has to be in a package with let's say Lee. We're worse off in the short term without Lee than JG if you just subtracted him and didn't get an impact player for the present back, although they certainly both need to be moved for reasons you have stated. And as I've said multiple times , and you have alluded to, in particular, Lee's value is at its high point because he's coming off a very good year, I think at its highest point of recent and between now versus going forward. And again I don't think JG's presence makes or breaks the Islanders hopefully other teams think that.
If all he trades for is prospects and doesn't use some of our players like a Lee or JG that have value or maybe even really good or great value to either trade or package for someone with elite or close to elite talent, he will be gaining prospects and draft picks for the next GM to draft and develop. Particularly if this is a not 7 to 10 year rebuild, it can't all be just draft and prospects. even if this is a complete rebuild he won't be there for the whole 7 to 10 years. I don't think he's going for a complete rebuild or as Gil has said neither is ownership and hopefully he brings in some high end talent and if he does I expect him to be here for a long time, hopefully 10 years plus, and we will be a competitor before then.
Please wait a year! They will f this kid up
Travis Hamonic 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 friendly Contact, Loved him, Ottawa hasn’t signed him yet, great veteran to teach the young Defencman 👊🏼
do not rush…the kid played 16 games last year and is barely 18 ….what are we discussing. we are not contenders so what's the point
Good morning team! Gil, I love the podcast very much! Thank you for my dose of off season hockey talk. I'm all good with going slow with our youngsters, Schaefer and the rest. It's so important to bring them up the right way. Even though they have been playing hockey since they could walk, there is a reason why you can score 30 plus goals in the AHL and only score 15-18 goals in the NHL. Don't want to screw with anyone's game by diminishing their confidence in the NHL, before they are able to handle it. Loved the mailbag question. Looking forward to Friday's show. Everyone, have a great day! Stay hydrated out there, where ever you are. Catch you all Friday. Until then.. Let's Go Islanders!!
Gil, stop lamenting the recent "loss" of current first round picks. Those four picks were spent on four guys who are still producing for the Isles. So what was lost?
The Islanders are terrible and will be for a few more season. This is the time that these kids needs to play.