Matthew Schaefer, the New York Islanders defenseman, became the first unanimous winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year in 33 years on Wednesday, May 13. The NHL surprised the 18-year-old with the trophy during his appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America.

For the special live presentation on ABC, Schaefer’s father, Todd, and brother, Johnny, were on hand alongside retired Islanders player Matt Martin, as well as Martin’s wife, Sydney, and their two daughters. During his first NHL season after being selected No. 1 overall in the 2025 draft, Schaefer lived with Martin as part of the veteran-rookie mentorship arrangement throughout the campaign.

After receiving the coveted Calder Trophy, Schaefer dedicated it to his late mother, Jennifer, whom he and his family lost two years ago to breast cancer. Fighting back tears, he said, “We’ve done a lot as a family. My mom has helped me and my family so much with everything. We’ve had some tough losses, but it hasn’t stopped us as a family.”

“We’ve gotten a lot closer. For you guys to be here … it means a lot. This year was super important to me,” he added.

Notably, Schaefer recently launched a partnership with Northwell Health, supported by an initial $150,000 donation from the Islanders Children’s Foundation, to establish the Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Center in New York for cancer patients and their families. The center is an effort by the teenager to honor his late mother.

Matthew Schaefer’s performances for the New York Islanders in his rookie season

Matthew Schaefer won the Calder Memorial Trophy ahead of the Montreal Canadiens’ Ivan Demidov and the Anaheim Ducks’ Beckett Sennecke following voting by the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA). The youngster was expected to have a strong rookie season after becoming the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, and he managed to exceed those expectations with the New York Islanders.

He became the youngest player in NHL history to win the award at 18 years and 223 days old, one day younger than Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. The teenager received all 198 first-place votes for the Calder.

After playing all 82 regular-season games, Schaefer scored 23 goals, tying Brian Leetch’s record for the most by a rookie defenseman in NHL history. He finished with 59 points, ranking third among all rookies in the 2025–26 season, while averaging 24:41 of ice time per game, the highest among them.

Schaefer played a key role in helping the Islanders remain in playoff contention, but they ultimately finished sixth in the Metropolitan Division with a 43-34-5 record and 91 points. He also became the sixth player in Islanders history to win the Calder Memorial Trophy and the first since Mathew Barzal in 2017–18.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Sahil Prashar