New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer has been named the NHL's Rookie of the Month for October after a strong start to his career. The 18-year-old first-overall pick recorded eight points in 11 games while leading all rookies in time on ice.
Matthew Schaefer, the New York Islanders' top draft pick from 2025, earned the NHL's Rookie of the Month honors for October on Saturday. The 18-year-old defenseman from Hamilton, Ontario, tallied three goals and five assists for eight points across his first 11 NHL games. He paced all rookies with an average of 22:21 time on ice per game and 33 shots on goal, while tying for the lead among rookies in power-play goals with two.
Schaefer leads rookie defensemen in goals and takeaways with five, is tied for first in points, and ranks second in assists and power-play points with four. Among all NHL defensemen, he shares the league lead in power-play goals, is tied for third in goals and shots on goal, and tied for 10th in points.
His debut on October 9 at Pittsburgh marked him as the youngest defenseman in league history to record a point at 18 years and 34 days old. Two days later, on October 11 against Washington, he scored his first NHL goal on the power play, becoming the youngest defenseman to do so. Schaefer opened the season with a six-game point streak from October 9 to 21, tying the longest such run by a rookie defenseman in NHL history. On October 21 versus San Jose, he notched his first game-winning goal and a multi-point game, records for the youngest defenseman in those categories.
Schaefer is the first Islanders player to win the award since Mathew Barzal in January 2018 and the seventh Islander overall since the 1983-84 season. He edges out other top rookies including Montreal's Ivan Demidov and Detroit's Emmitt Finnie, both with eight points.