NHL draft prospect, Hamilton's Matthew Schaefer, on dealing with serious injury and the death of his mom
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 mother in Erie was struck and killed by a train, with her death ruled a suicide.
"I've been through a lot in my life and I'd rather an injury than losing someone I love," Schaefer said Friday at the NHL's annual pre-draft combine in Buffalo. "I mean, there's a lot worse things that can happen than injuries.
As for recovering from the collarbone he broke in December, Schaefer said: "I'm pretty positive with my mindset and I'm driven to want to come back. So yeah, obviously injuries, they're not fun. But I'm driven to get better and come back even stronger."
Schaefer was cleared to resume skating May 1 and plans to take part in all of the combine's strength and agility tests with the exception of the bench press and pullups.
Schaefer is ranked ahead of Oakville, Ont.'s Michael Misa
Upbeat and talkative, he showed no hint of the pain he's dealt with by engaging reporters in opening the press conference by saying: "What's going on today? Everybody good?"
Schaefer then proceeded to playfully joke and also compliment Saginaw Spirit forward Michael Misa, with whom he shared the podium and is the No. 2-ranked North American skater.
"Not able to play as much, I got to watch a little more and got to know him. Great guy on and off ice," Schaefer said, before saying he'd be happy if Misa was selected ahead of him.
Schaefer then displayed humility by acknowledging being surprised to maintain the No. 1 ranking despite having his season cut short after being hurt representing Canada at the world junior championships.
"I played only 17 games and, you know, why are you at the top of that list?" he said. "I played in those 17 games, I took it as opportunities and I worked as hard as I could and left it all out there."
NHL Central Scouting chief Dan Marr told The Associated Press the debate in ranking Schaefer over Misa was close, and wouldn't be surprised if Misa or perhaps, Boston College center James Hagens, goes No. 1 in the draft in Los Angles on June 27.
Hagens is from Long Island and the top-ranked American-born skater. The top-ranked European skaters are Sweden junior teammates, center Anton Frondell and right wing Victor Eklund, who's brother William plays for San Jose.
The New York Islanders have the first pick, followed by San Jose and Chicago.
What separated Schaefer from the rest in the rankings, Marr said, was what he showed in his 17 games with Erie, and his performance at the Canada's Under-18 summer camp.
From Hamilton, Schaefer displayed his offensive abilities in scoring seven goals and 22 points with Erie last season. That's what scouts were looking for following his rookie season in which Schaefer had three goals and 17 points in 56 games.
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 183 pounds, Schaefer is a two-way defenseman with strong skating and play-making ability.
#TheMoment a rising hockey star turned tragedy into triumph
1 year ago
Duration 1:22
The New York Islanders have the first pick in the NHL draft on June 27
Misa, is from Oakville, Ontario, and enjoyed a breakout third season in Saginaw while making the switch from wing to center.
Granted exceptional status to play at 15 in 2022, he led all Canadian Hockey League players this season with 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) — the most by an OHL player 17 or younger since John Tavares in 2006-07. Tavares, now with Toronto, went No. 1 pick 2009 draft to the Islanders.
Schaefer enjoyed the interview process over the past week, and said he had dinner with both the Islanders and Sharks.
"I'm a talker. I love all these interviews and stuff, it keeps me busy," Schaefer said.
He then jokingly frowned when informed Misa had four dinners.
Misa holds Schaefer in high regard, and also acknowledged he'd be fine if the defenseman was selected ahead of him.
"You know what you're getting from him every night. He's all over the ice," Misa said. "When he does make that jump to the NHL, he is going to have no problem fitting in."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
2 hours ago
- CTV News
Former Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner looks forward to fitting into family culture of Vegas Golden Knights
Newly acquired Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner, left, poses for a photo with his jersey alongside Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon at City National Arena on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Las Vegas. (Chase Stevens/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP) LAS VEGAS (AP) — Family. Winning. Culture. All three have become synonymous with the Vegas Golden Knights through their first eight years in the NHL. They matched the attributes on Mitch Marner's list and why he agreed to a sign-and-trade from Toronto to Vegas, ultimately leaving the organization that drafted him fourth overall in 2015, two years before the Knights entered the league. 'Obviously, the winning regimen they've put up through the last five years, really since they've been in the league,' Marner said during his introductory news conference Tuesday. 'The living arrangements from talking to (Max) Pacioretty and Reavo (Ryan Reaves) just through the last couple weeks, it seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife and I and our new son. 'And you know, the great players they have here. It's where we wanted to be.' Of course, a $96 million contract for a maximum of eight years didn't hurt, either. Both Marner and Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said it was important to get the deal done before July 1, when Marner would have been eligible to go anywhere else and would have been the most sought-after player beginning at noon EDT. 'This was a spot that was very high on my list,' said Marner, with his wife Stephanie and 3-month-old son Miles in the front row, along with his parents, Paul and Bonnie. 'We wanted to come here and went back to my agent and said I'm open to doing this if we can find a way to do it. A couple hours later Kelly called me and said we got a deal going on. 'We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be. We didn't want to lose that opportunity. And we want to join this hockey team.' Marner joins Vegas' talented and successful core of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Adin Hill, which has made the playoffs three years in a row under coach Bruce Cassidy, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. 'You want to be in a place where you want to win,' Marner said. 'That's the whole goal of why we do this, you want to hoist that Stanley Cup. This team has shown that they can do it. I'm lucky enough now to hopefully bring another piece in to help bring it back here.' The deal for Marner opened up after Vegas announced veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was stepping away from hockey because his hip injury would require bilateral femur reconstruction that McCrimmon said had 'no guarantee of success.' Pietrangelo going on long-term injured reserve in part paves the way for the Golden Knights to fit Marner in under the salary cap. McCrimmon said Tuesday he doesn't believe Pietrangelo will ever play hockey again. Marner, however, has plenty to offer the Knights, as the two-time All-Star winger leaves the Maple Leafs as their fifth-highest scorer in franchise history at 741 points in the regular season on 221 goals (14th) and 520 assists (fourth). The 28-year-old's 521 assists since his rookie season (2016-17) ranks fifth in the NHL, while he ranks eighth with 741 points. 'We're getting one of the best forwards in the National Hockey League,' said McCrimmon, who also said that conversations about acquiring Marner went back to the trade deadline. 'Elite playmaker, tremendous passer. ... Our fans will love this player. He really adds to our team. He adds to our offense. It gives us another F1 star at the forward position, which we really feel is important. I think that it improves our team tremendously. 'When it appeared that Mitch would be going to free agency, he was our target. He was the player that we wanted.' AP Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow contributed to this report. W.g. Ramirez, The Associated Press
National Post
4 hours ago
- National Post
Marner reveals factors for leaving Maple Leafs, signing with Vegas
Mitch Marner on Tuesday night shed some light on his desire to play for the Vegas Golden Knights. Article content In his first news conference as a member of the Western Conference club and clad in his new No. 93 Golden Knights sweater, Marner made it clear Vegas was his first choice. Article content Article content 'We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be,' Marner said, referring to himself and his wife, Stephanie. 'We don't want to lose that opportunity, and we wanted to join this hockey team.' Article content Marner was joined by his wife, his baby son Miles, and his parents Paul and Bonnie for his first official day with the Golden Knights. In a sign-and-trade, Marner got an eight-year, $96-million US contract carrying an average annual value of $12 million US. Article content The trade, which involved centre Nicolas Roy going to Toronto, officially was announced on Tuesday morning. Article content Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon, who spoke at the podium in Vegas before Marner, said the teams agreed to a trade on Friday night during the first round of the National Hockey League draft. Article content 'We made a trade with Toronto where we traded Nic Roy and for them to sign and trade Marner to Vegas, if we could come to an agreement with his representative (Darren Ferris),' McCrimmon said. 'We were able to do that over the course of a few days. It took a couple of days for the NHL to process the contract and then there were some salary-cap logistics between Toronto and ourselves that delayed the announcement of it a little bit. Article content 'We wanted to do a sign-and-trade with Toronto so we could get the eighth year on the contract. For us, the eighth year really helped us in terms of what the AAV might be.' Article content Had the Golden Knights got Marner on seven years, to get to a total of $96 million, the AAV would have been $13.7 million. Article content 'That impacts our ability to take the player onto our team,' McCrimmon said. Article content The interest in Marner from McCrimmon and Vegas isn't new. The team has liked the 28-year-old for a while and tried to acquire Marner at the trade deadline in March in a three-team deal that involved the Carolina Hurricanes and would have brought Mikko Rantanen to Toronto. Instead, Rantanen was traded to Dallas by Carolina.
Winnipeg Free Press
4 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
All-Star winger Mitch Marner looks forward to fitting into family culture of Vegas Golden Knights
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Family. Winning. Culture. All three have become synonymous with the Vegas Golden Knights through their first eight years in the NHL. They matched the attributes on Mitch Marner's list and why he agreed to a sign-and-trade from Toronto to Vegas, ultimately leaving the organization that drafted him fourth overall in 2015, two years before the Knights entered the league. 'Obviously, the winning regimen they've put up through the last five years, really since they've been in the league,' Marner said during his introductory news conference Tuesday. 'The living arrangements from talking to (Max) Pacioretty and Reavo (Ryan Reaves) just through the last couple weeks, it seemed like everything was a pretty good fit for my wife and I and our new son. 'And you know, the great players they have here. It's where we wanted to be.' Of course, a $96 million contract for a maximum of eight years didn't hurt, either. Both Marner and Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said it was important to get the deal done before July 1, when Marner would have been eligible to go anywhere else and would have been the most sought-after player beginning at noon EDT. 'This was a spot that was very high on my list,' said Marner, with his wife Stephanie and 3-month-old son Miles in the front row, along with his parents, Paul and Bonnie. 'We wanted to come here and went back to my agent and said I'm open to doing this if we can find a way to do it. A couple hours later Kelly called me and said we got a deal going on. 'We thought about going to free agency, but this is the place we want to be. We didn't want to lose that opportunity. And we want to join this hockey team.' Marner joins Vegas' talented and successful core of Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore and Adin Hill, which has made the playoffs three years in a row under coach Bruce Cassidy, including winning the Stanley Cup in 2023. 'You want to be in a place where you want to win,' Marner said. 'That's the whole goal of why we do this, you want to hoist that Stanley Cup. This team has shown that they can do it. I'm lucky enough now to hopefully bring another piece in to help bring it back here.' The deal for Marner opened up after Vegas announced veteran defenseman Alex Pietrangelo was stepping away from hockey because his hip injury would require bilateral femur reconstruction that McCrimmon said had 'no guarantee of success.' Pietrangelo going on long-term injured reserve in part paves the way for the Golden Knights to fit Marner in under the salary cap. McCrimmon said Tuesday he doesn't believe Pietrangelo will ever play hockey again. Marner, however, has plenty to offer the Knights, as the two-time All-Star winger leaves the Maple Leafs as their fifth-highest scorer in franchise history at 741 points in the regular season on 221 goals (14th) and 520 assists (fourth). The 28-year-old's 521 assists since his rookie season (2016-17) ranks fifth in the NHL, while he ranks eighth with 741 points. 'We're getting one of the best forwards in the National Hockey League,' said McCrimmon, who also said that conversations about acquiring Marner went back to the trade deadline. 'Elite playmaker, tremendous passer. … Our fans will love this player. He really adds to our team. He adds to our offense. It gives us another F1 star at the forward position, which we really feel is important. I think that it improves our team tremendously. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'When it appeared that Mitch would be going to free agency, he was our target. He was the player that we wanted.' ___ AP Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and John Wawrow contributed to this report. ___ AP NHL:
