No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer has agreed to a three-year entry-level contract (ELC) with the New York Islanders, the team announced on Monday.
“I feel amazing,” Schaefer said after throwing out the first pitch prior to the Mets game against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday. “This is something I’ve wanted to do my whole life… There’s still a lot of work, but that was my dream and I want to play in the NHL this season. I want to really badly. I know there’s going to be a lot of hard work that comes with it, but I think I can do it.”
By signing the deal, the 17-year-old defenseman will not attend college, which could have been an option.
“I want to play in the NHL,” Schaefer said. “Other people would ask me where I want to go, but I’ve been so dialed in on wanting to play in the NHL. When I set goals for me, I work as hard as I can to get to that point.”
Schaefer has made it known that he expects to make the Islanders out of training camp and be a mainstay on the blueline henceforth, which is very much an option now that his ELC is signed.
However, he could still spend the entire 2025-26 season with his junior team, the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), if he is not deemed ready for the full-time workload of the NHL. He could play nine games at the NHL level — the maximum before burning a year of the contract — and either stay with the Islanders or return to Erie.
Schaefer emerged as the consensus top prospect leading up to the draft in June despite breaking his clavicle in December with the Canadian national junior team. With Erie, he recorded 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in just 17 games before suffering his injury.
The Islanders also announced that Schaefer will be wearing No. 48, which was the number he said he was “gunning for” during development camp last month.
“I have the number, but I still got to work for a spot on the team,” Schaefer said. “There’s still a lot of work. Got to put my head down, put my work boots on and get to work.”
