Schaefer passed Bobby Orr, but the 26 minutes are the story
The Islanders' 19-year-old moved into second among teenage defensemen in goals, and only three blueliners are playing more.
The Bobby Orr line is the headline, and it should be, but the bigger story is the ice time. The Islanders are playing a 19-year-old 26 minutes a night, and he's handling it like a No. 1 defenseman already.
Matthew Schaefer scored his 25th career goal in Sunday's 6-3 loss in Dallas. That goal moved him past Orr for the second-most goals by a teenage defenseman in NHL history. Phil Housley is the only one ahead of him.
The goal
It came at 13:43 of the first period, during 4-on-4 play, to tie the game 1-1. Schaefer skated down the left side, picked his spot and snapped one past Jake Oettinger's right shoulder, under the bar.
That's the shot he showed all of last season, when he went first overall in 2025 and walked straight into the lineup. In January he passed Orr for the second-most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman. Now he's done it again for the whole teenage stretch.
The number that matters
Schaefer is averaging 26.2 minutes a game, per NHL data. Among defensemen with at least five games, only Zach Werenski, Owen Power and Quinn Hughes play more, by our count. He's even with Jackson LaCombe and ahead of Evan Bouchard, and that's company a sophomore has no business keeping.
He has 10 points in 11 games, two goals and eight assists, and points in four straight. That's a sophomore carrying a minute load that most teams give to a 28-year-old with a long contract.
The rest of the Islanders' blue line explains why. Logan Stanley is next at 20.7 minutes, and Adam Pelech has gone seven games without a point at 20.4. Schaefer isn't sharing the job with anybody, because right now he is the job.
The catch
New York is 5-4-2, and Sunday ended a five-game point streak with Dallas scoring six. A kid can play 26 minutes and drive the puck, but he can't fix a team defense by himself.
That's the part I'd keep an eye on. The workload is a compliment, and it's also a long season for anyone at 26 minutes a night.
Kessler's read
The record says Schaefer can shoot. The minutes say the Islanders already trust him with everything else. A defenseman who eats 26 minutes and still scores is rarer than any line in the record book.
Housley's mark is the next one on the board, and Schaefer has the rest of his teenage season to chase it. At this usage he'll get every chance. My call: he's on the ice for more than 25 minutes a night when the Islanders hit the 40-game mark.
