Schaefer Lands at No. 7 Among NHL Defensemen as Islanders Head to Camp With Six Players Sidelined

NHL Network placed Matthew Schaefer seventh on its Top 20 Defenseman Right Now list, a ranking that lands with some weight given where the Islanders stand heading into training camp. The 2025 first-overall pick won the Calder Trophy in his debut season, posting 13 goals, 19 assists, and 32 points in 50 games while averaging 23.8 minutes of ice time per night. Slotting him ahead of established veterans at this stage of his career is a notable external endorsement of what New York has in him.

The timing is complicated, though. Six players are currently unavailable as camp approaches: Mathew Barzal, Pierre Engvall, Kyle Palmieri, Ryan Pulock, Alexander Romanov, and Semyon Varlamov. That list covers the team's leading scorer, both starting defensemen who logged heavy minutes alongside Schaefer last season, and the starting goaltender. Barzal finished with 42 points in 50 games; Pulock added 21 points in 49. The Islanders finished 43–39, and the depth problems that surfaced in a 3–7 close to the season have not been resolved by the offseason.

The front office has been active on infrastructure—appointing a new AHL general manager and securing Alex Jefferies on a one-year deal—but the injury list is the dominant fact heading into camp. Schaefer's ranking is a genuine organizational asset. Whether it matters in October depends on who is healthy enough to skate beside him.