We're just past the quarter mark of the 2025-26 season, as rookies are beginning to establish themselves in the NHL.
With young players playing more crucial roles in today’s game, teenagers are expected to produce almost immediately, and that’s just what NY Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer has done.
Schaefer takes the quarter-season Calder Trophy
The question immediately surrounding Schaefer was whether he could stick in the NHL for a full season. Then it became, how much can he produce? Now the only question is, how high is his ceiling?
NHL.com polled 16 of their writers using a 5-4-3-2-1 system to determine their quarter-season Calder Trophy winner, with Schaefer running away with the award totalling 80 points, followed by Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens (57) and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks (34).