- Peter DeBoer says 18-year-old Matthew Schaefer has “future captain written all over him”
- The Islanders are without a captain after Anders Lee left for the Utah Mammoth this offseason
- Read below for DeBoer’s full take and why he wants to bring the Calder winner along slowly
Peter DeBoer already knows what he has in Matthew Schaefer.
The Islanders coach only got four games behind the bench last season, but that was long enough to sell him on the 18-year-old. DeBoer sat down with The Athletic’s Peter Baugh and made his read on Schaefer plain: the kid has “future captain written all over him.”
DeBoer was asked where Schaefer fits in the room. “I think he’s already a respected voice in that dressing room,” he said. “Having said that, he’s an 18-, 19-year-old player, and he’s got an awful lot on his plate individually. Will he be part of our (leadership) group? Absolutely he will, and I think he’s got future captain written all over him. But I think we have to be very careful not to put too much on his plate too early.”
The organization has been raving about him since he arrived:
There’s an opening for him, too. Anders Lee wore the “C” for eight seasons before he signed with the Utah Mammoth this summer, leaving Long Island without a captain.
He’s not rushing to fill it, either. DeBoer was asked if he’d name someone before opening night. “I want to spend training camp with the group again, get a little more feel for the players and the options,” he said. “Then we’ll make some decisions.”
Handing Schaefer the letter now would break another record. He doesn’t turn 19 until Sept. 5, which would make him the youngest full-time captain in NHL history, passing Connor McDavid, who got the Edmonton job at 19 years and 266 days back in 2016.
Here’s a reminder of why the Islanders are this excited about him:
Schaefer already owns a stack of records. He won the Calder unanimously, the first player to sweep the vote in 33 years, after piling up 23 goals and 36 assists in 82 games. That’s the most points any 18-year-old defenseman has ever put up.
He is also the youngest player ever to take the award home:
There’s a veteran route if DeBoer wants one. Bo Horvat and Brayden Schenn have both worn the “C” before, and Mathew Barzal, Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have all been around long enough to earn a look. None of them come with Schaefer’s ceiling.
Whether the letter lands on Schaefer’s sweater in October or a year later, DeBoer already knows who the Islanders are building around.
