New York Islanders star rookie Matthew Schaefer’s barnstorming start to life in the NHL is already catching the attention of the Canadian national team.
The 18-year-old has reportedly been added to the Olympic drug-testing protocol, which makes him eligible to join the famed Team Canada for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina this February.
Even being considered for Team Canada is remarkable for a talent that has spent less than two months in the NHL. Yet, Schaefer already appears to be a natural, with seven goals and eight assists (15 points) in his first 20 career games. No other defenseman in the league has scored more goals than the Hamilton, ON native.
He became the youngest player in NHL history last week to score an overtime-winning goal (18 years, 70 days) on Nov. 14 against the Utah Mammoth. He is also the youngest defenseman in league history with a multi-goal game, doing so on Nov. 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Granted, Canada’s blue line is considerably crowded. At the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, which they won, the defense featured superstar Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey, Colton Parayko, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore, former-Islander Devon Toews, and Drew Doughty as an injury replacement for Alex Pietrangelo. Thomas Harley, Thomas Chabot, Evan Bouchard, and Jakob Chychrun are among other alternatives, as well.
But Schaefer has significant international experience already. He won gold at the World Hockey Championships with the U17 national team, then again at the World Juniors and Hinka Gretzky Cup with the U18 squad. While he was on the U20 squad at last year’s World Juniors, he appeared in just two games due to injury.
This is the first time that NHL players will participate in the Olympic Games since 2014. The men’s tournament will begin with preliminary games on Feb. 11 and end with the gold-medal game on Feb. 22.
