After offseason of hype and excitement, Matthew Schaefer’s Islanders era is finally here

PITTSBURGH — No matter what Matthew Schaefer does in his NHL debut Thursday night, it would almost certainly measure up well against that of his head coach.

“I didn’t know how to get to the rink, so I was late,” Patrick Roy said before the Islanders faced Pittsburgh to start their season, reflecting back on Oct. 10, 1985, his first ever start.

“Is that a good start or what?”

Schaefer, with the benefit of a team bus, was on time and on the ice well before the official 11 a.m. start time for the Islanders’ morning skate Thursday.

He and fellow debutant Max Shabanov led the Islanders in stretches before Schaefer sat in the center of a throng of media, boosted by Pittsburgh’s proximity to Erie, where he played junior hockey.

The last Erie Otter to be picked first overall, by the way, was one Connor McDavid. No pressure, kid.

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“Obviously super exciting,” Schaefer said. “You dreamed of playing in the NHL one day. The work doesn’t stop here. It’s just getting started. So, honestly, it’s just like every other game. You just want to get the season going, you want to get that first shift. You want to get in the game. You can just put your head down and get to work.”

Such is the approach the 18-year-old defenseman has taken throughout the last attention-filled three months, starting at the draft combine and going all the way through training camp.

He has sounded all the right, humble notes. Confident but nowhere near cocky. Engaging but refusing to create narratives that can spin out of control.

This, as much as his ability on the ice, is why the Islanders were so confident not only in picking Schaefer first overall, but in having him start the season in the NHL instead of back in Erie.

He is an adult in the body of a teenager. The notion of going up against Sidney Crosby on Thursday night came off his back like water.

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“You’re not really looking in awe,” he said. “You want to beat them. Obviously it’s gonna be pretty cool playing against such talented guys, but we got such a talented group of guys I’ve been training with for the last month. We’re ready to play.”

The optimism that has fallen in place around the Islanders all summer came down to a lot of things, but none more than 7-11-12-13, the combination of balls that miraculously came up at the draft lottery, converting a minute 3.5 percent shot into the No. 1 overall pick.

Schaefer, before he so much as stepped on the ice, became the talisman for the hopes of a franchise that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup in over 40 years. 

“We want him to learn, want him to be himself, certainly not gonna change his offensive skills, but I’m sure he’s gonna have to make some adjustments,” Roy said. “Especially at the beginning, with the strength of the players he was seeing in juniors compared to NHL. So that might be the biggest adjustment for him, but he’ll be smart, so he’s fine.”

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Schaefer will not be an instant star, but even if he never reaches the lofty heights that everyone seems to think he’ll one day occupy, he will always have Thursday.

He estimated the total number of friends and family at PPG Paints Arena would be close to 30, and said earlier in the week that many of them would also be going from Pittsburgh to New York for the Islanders’ home opener Saturday.

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“My dad’s been super excited,” Schaefer said. “He’s like, ‘Oh, I can’t believe you’re playing in the NHL.’ Things like that. He’s like a kid in a candy store right now, just enjoying it. Obviously through all the hard times where your parents are working, they’re driving you to practice, doing lots of stuff. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them.”