New York Islanders star defenseman Matthew Schaefer had a big win off the ice, followed by one on the ice.

On Monday, May 11, Northwell Health and the Islanders announced they willopen the Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Center at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center, named after his mother, who died of breast cancer in 2024. Two days later, Schaefer was unanimously namedthe winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy, given annually to the NHL’s top rookie.

Schaefer, the first overall pick of the 2025NHLDraft, played in all 82 games during the 2025-2026 season and was one of the top players on an Islanders team that narrowly missed the playoffs. He tied the league record for most goals by a rookie defenseman with 23 and added 36 assists to combine for 59 total points.

The 18-year-old led all rookies in goals, power play goals (8), shots (222), and ice time per game (24:41). He was also third in both assists and points among first-year players.

And the NHL voters rewarded Schaefer’s play with 199 first-place votes for the award given to the top rookie, becoming the first rookie defenceman to win the award unanimously and the second player to do so, joining Hall-of-Fame Teemu Selanne, who won the Calder in 1993.

Scheafer is the sixth Islander to win the award, with Mathew Barzal in 2018 being the most recent recipient. Denis Potvin in 1974, Bryan Trottier in 1976, Mike Bossy in 1978, and Bryan Bedard in 1997 also won the award while representing the team.

Schaefer was making an appearance on Good Morning America on Wednesday, May 13, when he was surprised with the news.

“We’ve gone through a lot as a family,” he said, referring to the loss of his mother after a battle with cancer. “My mom’s helped me and my family so much with everything. We’ve had some tough losses, but that hasn’t stopped us as a family. We’ve gotten a lot closer… This means a lot… This year was super important to me… I’m super honored to win this.”

On the same day he found out he had won the award, he brought the Calder Trophy with him and celebrated with kids at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center.

Two days earlier, with the help of a $150,000 donation from the Islanders’ Children Foundation, the foundation, Schaefer, and Northwell Health announced the creation of theJennifer Schaefer Child Support Center, which will open at the R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center in New Hyde Park in October.

Source: LI Press