New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer made a guest appearance at the Sportsnet broadcast desk of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

During a light-hearted exchange, the former No. 1 pick humorsly explained why he has grown so fond of Long Island.

"You know, on Long Island, I love Long Island. It's such a great place to be," Schaefer said. "I'm living with the Martins, rent-free. Marty, if you are seeing this, I'm living there until I'm 30."

Schaefer was referring to Matt Martin, a former Islanders forward. He is now a Special Assistant to the General Manager.

Martin and his wife, Sydney, took Schaefer in when he arrived in New York to try to give the teenager a family environment during his transition from junior hockey to the NHL, according to Stefen Rosner and David Kolb of The El Monters.

Sydney Martin has publicly talked about treating Schaefer as a fifth child. She described Schaefer as humble, driven, and invested in being part of the family, apart from the sport. 

Schaefer, living with the Martin family, became one of the bigger Islanders stories this past season. This includes the time, earlier this spring, when Schaefer FaceTimed the Martins' daughters, Winnie and Alice, to explain the NHL Draft Lottery to them.

Schaefer Returned to the Draft Stage One Year Later

On the ice, Schaefer finished his rookie season with 59 points in 82 games, leading all rookie defensemen in scoring. He also averaged 24:41 of ice time per game, posted a team-best plus-13 rating, and blocked 111 shots.

One year after hearing his own name called first overall, Schaefer was back on the draft stage in a different role. This time, the Islanders handed him the honor of announcing the team's 13th overall selection, Swedish defenseman Malte Gustafsson.

According to Ethan Sears of the New York Post, GM Mathieu Darche has described two ways to approach this: competing now while protecting their core players who should anchor a contender a few years from now. 

Players who have arrived in recent times, such as Bo Horvat, Brayden Schenn, Kyle Palmieri, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau, have all spoken warmly about the team and their community. 

Between his rapid development on the ice and the comfort he has found off it, Schaefer has quickly become one of the faces of the Islanders' future.

His joke about never leaving Long Island may have been made in fun, but it reflected how much his first year with the organization has meant to him.

Read more at NHL Fan Central!

Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Rudra Dubey