# Matthew Schaefer

Matthew Schaefer (born September 5, 2007) is a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Considered a top prospect eligible for the 2025 NHL entry draft, he is projected by many sources to be the first overall pick.

## Playing career

Playing at the under-16 level for the Halton Hurricanes of the South-Central Triple A Hockey League in 2022–23, Schaefer recorded 12 goals and 32 points in 25 games, earning player of the year honours. Following the season, he was selected first overall in the 2023 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) draft by the Erie Otters. He became the third first overall pick in Otters history, after Ryan O'Reilly and Connor McDavid. In May 2023, he signed a contract with the Otters, committing to play for the team beginning that fall.
Early in his rookie OHL season, the 2023–24 season, Schaefer scored his first goal on October 12, 2023, a power play goal against the Niagara IceDogs. As the backbone of an Otters defense group that The Hockey News described as "bleak," Schaefer was leaned upon heavily but managed the transition from minor hockey to the OHL smoothly. He would finish the year with three goals and 17 points in 56 games, earning first team all-rookie honors. His impressive rookie season came in the face of significant personal struggles, as both his mother and his billet mother died during the season.
Schaefer began the 2024–25 season sick with mononucleosis, missing nine games before getting clearance to play. In January 2025, not long after sustaining a broken collarbone at the 2025 World Junior Championships, he was named the top North American skater on NHL Central Scouting's midterm rankings.

## International play

Representing Ontario at the 2023 Canada Winter Games, Schaefer, as the team's captain, scored an game-winning goal in overtime of the finals to secure a 3–2 victory over Saskatchewan and a gold medal. Later that year, he would win gold with the Canadian under-17 team at the 2023 World U-17 Hockey Challenge, again as captain.
At the 2024 World U18 Championship, Schaefer and Team Canada went undefeated to a gold medal finish. Although overshadowed by fellow underage player Gavin McKenna and his 20 points at the event, Schaefer was also a standout, averaging just under 18 minutes a night including power play and penalty kill deployment and scoring one goal and five points in seven games.
Schaefer was the Canadian captain at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where his standout play was a driving force behind the Canadians claiming the gold medal. He opened the tournament with two goals in a 10–0 blowout victory against Switzerland, adding four assists over the rest of the event to finish with six points.
After scoring a goal and assist in the first game of the 2025 World Junior Championships, Schaefer suffered a broken collarbone in the following match, a 3–2 upset loss to Latvia.

## Personal life

Matthew Schaefer is the younger son of Todd and Jennifer Schaefer. His older brother Johnny, like him, played in the Ontario Hockey League. His mother died of breast cancer in February 2024, less than three months after his billet mother Emily Matson was struck and killed by a train in an apparent suicide.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2023–24 | Erie Otters | OHL | 56 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| OHL totals | OHL totals | OHL totals | 56 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 2023 | Canada White | U17 | | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2024 | Canada | U18 | | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 2024 | Canada | HG18 | | 5 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 | Canada | WJC | 5th | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 22 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 8 |

## Awards and honours

| Award | Year | Ref |
| OHL |||
| First All-Rookie Team | 2024 | |