NHL top draft prospect, Erie defenseman Schaefer remains upbeat while dealing with death and injury

NHL top draft prospect, Erie defenseman Schaefer remains upbeat while ...

Matthew Schaefer ‘would love to be an Islander’ — but potential No. 1 pick knows it’s out of his control

This week at the combine, Matthew Schaefer had dinner with just two teams: the Islanders and Sharks. They pick first and second overall.

NHL top draft prospect, Erie defenseman Schaefer remains upbeat while dealing with death and injury (copy)

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Matthew Schaefer’s collarbone is fine, and so is the Erie Otter defenseman’s perspective on dealing with adversity.

NHL top draft prospect, Erie defenseman Schaefer remains upbeat while dealing with death and injury

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Matthew Schaefer’s collarbone is fine, and so is the Erie Otter defenseman’s perspective on dealing with adversity.

NHL top draft prospect Schaefer remains upbeat while dealing with death and injury

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Matthew Schaefer’s collarbone is fine, and so is the Erie Otter defenseman’s perspective on dealing with adversity. Missing the final three months of the season entering his draft eligible year, the 17-year-old said, is nothing compared to what NHL Central Scouting’s top-ranked North American skater has already endured. Schaefer lost his mother, Jennifer, to breast cancer in February 2024. Two months earlier, his billet moth…