Exclusive: NHL star Matthew Schaefer talks burgeoning Tom Brady friendship, Islanders and Sidney Crosby

By D.J. Siddiqi

New York Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer has taken the league by storm.

The 18-year-old Canadian has every bit lived up to his billing as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. The rookie defenseman leads all first-year players in points (46), goals (20) and shots (124) while averaging 24:16 in ice time.

Unsurprisingly, Schaefer is the heavy favorite to win the Calder Trophy, the NHL's award for best rookie.

The Hamilton, Ontario native is already one of the more prominent names in the NHL, and now he's chopped it up with NFL legend Tom Brady, who co-owns the NOBULL brand, an athletic sportswear company.

Schaefer has a partnership with the NOBULL brand and detailed his recent interaction with Brady.

“He's awesome,” Schaefer told Casino.ca in an exclusive interview. “I talked to him for probably a solid five-to-10 minutes and we were just talking about life and everything. He was like, 'Well, I can't wait to partner with you.’ I'm like, 'You can't wait? I can't wait to partner with you and the NOBULL brand.' It was so cool. Hopefully I'll get to meet him. He was a great guy."

Schaefer marveled at Brady’s ability to juggle all of his different projects.

"He's obviously a busy guy,” Schaefer said. “I don't think I will ever be as busy as him. He's doing so much, and he's so focused with NOBULL and stuff like that. He's always looking to improve the brand no matter what.”

Schaefer said part of what makes Brady so good is that he aims to be a "perfectionist."

"Everything I've heard is so many great things just from the start," Schaefer said. "I was getting to know the NOBULL brand and everything he's done before NOBULL with all his businesses he's had. He's taken so much care of everything he's done. He’s put so much effort into it, to make it be the best thing possible.

“The biggest thing that I stand by, and I think Tom and (NOBULL co-owner) Mike (Repole) are both this: they want to be perfectionists. Nobody will ever be perfect, but they are guys that want to be, that want to give it their all each and every day. They want to make this the best brand name and apparel company there is."

Schaefer details where he wants to improve on the ice

Although Schaefer is dominating on the ice in his rookie season and has already chopped it up with the greatest NFL player of all time, he's always looking for ways to improve.

Schaefer mentioned wanting to be a better two-way player and better in the defensive zone as key areas where he wants to improve.

"That's a good (question),” Schaefer said. “Honestly on the ice, my D zone can always get better. There's always things walking the line and things like that. There's always things I look to improve on the ice, off the ice, On the ice, I think just being better in the D zone. I want to be a two-way player that's good all over."

The Islanders are currently fighting for a playoff spot. They have 83 points and are in one of the top six spots in the Eastern Conference. However, they're just two points ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, the first team on the outside looking in.

Schaefer: Islanders a ‘hard team to beat’ when in sync

New York isn't a great offensive team, but they excel at being physical while being a strong defensive-minded team. They're also flanked by a bunch of veterans in captain Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Matthew Barzal. They rank fourth in goals allowed.

"I can say a lot of things," Schaefer said about the identity of the Islanders. "We can be a lot of things, obviously. I could say gritty. What stands out to me the most is there's not a weak spot on our team. Our forwards are so good, our defensemen are so good, and our goalies are so good. When everyone's going, it's just so fun to be a part of, so fun to watch, and we're definitely a hard team to beat. When all lines are rolling, that's when we're at our best, and we're playing Islanders hockey.

"Teams have to adapt to us more than we have to adapt to them, because we play a great style of game," Schaefer continued to say. "We went through ups and downs, or even down a couple goals, and we've fought back. Honestly we just never give up, and we always give it our all."

Schaefer: Sidney Crosby was my favorite player growing up

When asked who was his favorite player while growing up, Schaefer named Pittsburgh Penguins great Sidney Crosby.

The 38-year-old Crosby is still going strong in his 21st NHL season with 27 goals and 32 assists in 56 games. In other words, Crosby is averaging more than a point per game two decades deep into his career.

"Crosby was definitely one, obviously,” Schaefer said. “Just everything he's done to the person he is. Obviously he's a great leader, and everyone loves him for who he is. He's obviously done great things for the league. He was one of them. Obviously my brother (Jonathan Schaefer), too. Being young, being able to watch my brother. He wasn't in the NHL. He was in the OHL, that was the highest level. But for me, that was a guy I also looked up to as a role model."

The Islanders defeated the Penguins on February 3, 5-4 in overtime, with Schaefer out-dueling Crosby. Schaefer had a goal and an assist while Crosby had an assist in the matchup. The two will face off one more time on March 30.

Schaefer said Crosby's best trait on the ice is that "he's strong" and "just good with the puck too, and he's smart."

"I haven't talked to him a lot, but obviously playing against him and stuff like that, he's pretty dialed in when he's playing," Schaefer said. "I've talked to (Connor) McDavid a bit just from him being with the Erie Otters. But yeah, there's some guys that down the road I'll definitely be able to talk to a little bit longer. But when you're on the ice, a lot of guys are very dialed in."

When asked what he would talk about with Crosby, Schaefer said it would just be about life.

"I know Brayden Schenn on our team is pretty close with him, and we were talking about Crosby the other day, and just what a great guy he is," Schaefer said. "But honestly, I’d just love to be around him, to be in that environment. Just talk about life with him. Nothing even about hockey, just about life."

Schaefer: Ilya Sorokin is best goalie in the NHL

When it comes to the best goalie in the league, Schaefer named his own goalkeeper, Ilya Sorokin. Sorokin is a former All-Star goaltender who leads the league in shutouts (six).

"This is going to sound biased, but I gotta go with Sorokin," Schaefer said. "Just in practice when I shoot on him, I get a lot better because he's such a good goaltender. He's so fun to even just watch. Every time you go up against him, he's so hard to score on."

As far as skaters that are hard to defend against, the standout rookie defenseman named several players, including Crosby, Connor McDavid, Jack Hughes and Nathan MacKinnon. If asked to pick one, he goes with Crosby.

"If I had to pick a player to play against that's really tough to defend, there's been a lot of ones," said Schaefer. "It's fun to play against the Foligno brothers, because I know them super well, and they like to hit me and give me a good one. There's been a lot of good ones. Obviously, Hughes is good to play against. MacKinnon, McDavid, Crosby.

"I'd have to say though the hardest one to play against is probably Crosby, just because he's so strong and there's one time I went to go get him and hit him off the puck, but he knocked me off because he's pretty strong.

"But I think that was before I was with NOBULL, and I don't think that will happen again. Because now I'm with NOBULL, so I'll give that NOBULL mentality when I'm out there."