Islanders’ Matthew Schaefer becomes youngest defenseman to record 50 career points

The season Matthew Schaefer continues to put together as a rookie defenseman has been incredible to watch, and he’s added another milestone to his incredible year.

The New York Islanders defenseman notched his 50th point on Thursday night in their 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, and in doing so, he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to hit the 50-point mark.

At 18 years and 195 days old, Schaefer is the youngest blueliner in terms of days to hit the milestone, surpassing Phil Housley’s previous benchmark with the Buffalo Sabres. Housley did so on February 25th, 1983 against the Boston Bruins, doing so at 18 years and 354 days old. The two defensemen are the only to hit 50 career points as an 18-year-old in NHL history.

Schaefer achieved his 50th point with the opening goal of Thursday’s game. Early in the second period, the Islanders had an offensive zone faceoff, and after Bo Horvat won the draw to Ryan Pulock, the defenseman passed it to his partner in Schaefer. The 2025 first-overall pick then skated a stride or two towards the net before firing it on net and beating James Reimer to give the Islanders the 1-0 lead.

It was an important goal for the Islanders, because their matchup with the Senators was one with high stakes in the playoff race. Not only was New York looking to keep ahead of Ottawa, who entered the game six points behind them, but the Isles also were fighting off the Columbus Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division. With the loss, the Islanders are now outside of a playoff spot.

Schaefer continues to add to an incredible rookie season as a defenseman, accumulating 21 goals and 29 assists for 50 points in 69 games. While he sits third in rookie scoring, he’s only two points behind Ivan Demidov, and also leads rookies in goals, making him the favorite for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Schaefer is also 12th among all defensemen in points, and second to Jakob Chychrun in goals.