Islanders’ Schaefer wins 2026 Calder Trophy as NHL’s top rookie

The NHL announced on Wednesday afternoon that New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer has won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top first-year player.

As No. 1 overall pick from the 2025 NHL Draft, expectations were high for Schaefer ahead of the season, as he was impressive in his stints with the Erie Otters of the OHL and while representing Team Canada in IIHF competition, but few could have predicted what the Hamilton, Ont. native actually delivered.

Schaefer etched his name into the lore of best seasons for rookie defensemen by finishing with 23 goals and 36 assists for 59 points in 82 games played while skating to a plus-13 rating on an average of 24:41 of time on ice per game.

Schaefer’s 23 goals put him in a tie with Brian Leetch for the most goals by a defenseman in their rookie season, and he becomes just the seventh defenseman to win the Calder this century, joining Lane Hutson, Mortiz Seider, Cale Makar, Aaron Ekblad, Tyler Myers and Barrett Jackman.

Schaefer’s rapid rise to stardom was a key driving force behind the Islanders’ season-long status as a possible playoff team. New York spent most of the year holding on to a playoff spot by slim margins, but was not able to get over the finish line in April.

With Schaefer cemented as the new face of the franchise and a proven winner behind the bench in Peter DeBoer, the Islanders figure to be right back in the mix in the 2026-27 season.

With such a prolific season in the books, it should come as no surprise that Schaefer’s win of the award was unanimous, as he took all 198 first-place votes.

Finishing behind Schaefer were his fellow finalists, Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks. Demidov took 120 second-place votes, while Sennecke garnered 41. Demidov’s teammate, goalie Jakub Dobeš, racked up 32. No other player had more than three.