How No. 1 overall OHL draft pick Matthew Schaefer is faring as an Erie Otters rookie
Johnny Schaefer played in five Ontario Hockey League seasons.
The former Niagara IceDogs defenseman helped them qualify for the Robertson Cup playoffs four times.
Todd and Jennifer Schaefer, from their suburban Hamilton, Ontario, home, were frequent patrons of their older son’s home games in the mid-2010s.
On occasion, the couple’s younger son also sat beside them.
He sat and imagined what it would be like to play at the same level as his brother one day.
“It was a dream, especially watching my brother growing up, to play in the OHL,” Matthew Schaefer said.
That dream became reality for the 16-year-old on Sept. 29. On that date, he officially joined his brother as a defenseman in the league.
Schaefer skated shifts for the Erie Otters during their season debut. He managed one shot on goal during their 5-0 loss at Mississauga.
There was one mammoth difference, though, between the brothers’ inaugural appearances. Johnny, unlike Matthew, wasn’t the No. 1 overall pick for an OHL priority selection draft.
The younger Schaefer’s debut with the Otters came five months after he was the first of 302 players chosen.
Schaefer recorded two goals, one during a power play, and eight assists over his first 30 games. He recorded an assist during six of Erie's last seven games going into this weekend.
Such statistics were respectable for the position, according to coach Stan Butler.
“Matt’s pluses are he’s got great offensive instincts,” he said. “He moves the puck around very well. He’s going to be a very gifted offensive player soon.”
Although Schaefer is listed as a defenseman, Erie drafted the 6-foot 1-inch, 160-pounder more in the role of a point guard in basketball.
Controlling loose pucks in the Otters’ zone, then feeding them to the sticks of teammates in the neutral zone or beyond, is what’s desired from him.
Even the lone minus Butler mentioned about Schaefer is one expected to resolve itself.
Schaefer needs to mature. Not emotionally, but physically.
“He needs to get stronger,” Butler said, “but when his body catches up to his brain, that will make him even better. He’s learning at an accelerated pace most guys can't at 16 years of age.”
Bonding with Benny
Schaefer knew Butler would be his coach when Erie drafted him in April.
What neither knew then was that overager Ben Gaudreau, a two-time Hockey Canada gold medalist and draft pick of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, would be the team’s regular goaltender.
Brown, in an aggressive move to help end an Erie playoff drought that began in 2018, traded goalie Nolan Lalonde and three draft picks to the Sarnia Sting for Gaudreau on Oct. 10.
Not only were the Otters off to an 0-3-1-0 start, but they had been outscored 24-8.
Brown’s trade, though, has been worth it for the organization and fans.
Erie was 17-15-4-0 going into Friday’s game at Kitchener. Although the Otters were last in the league’s Midwest Division, their 38 points had them in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.
The conference’s top eight teams will advance to the postseason.
Schaefer said he first met Gaudreau, 20, months before he was traded to Erie, during a hockey event that also included Otters forward Malcolm Spence.
“Benny and I bonded from Day One here,” Schaefer said. “The day he came here, we went out to eat and we’ve been close since. That’s so cool because he’s been in the league for (five seasons) now, so I can go to him with questions.
“It’s pretty easy to work with someone as good as him.”
Butler and Gaudreau haven’t been Schaefer’s only sources for hockey knowledge since Erie’s training camp. He’s also taken note of how third-year defenseman Owain Johnston and center Carey Terrance, an Anaheim Ducks draft pick, take charge of their respective units during practices.
“As high-level guys, I get to take bits and pieces from their games,” Schaefer said. “I feel like there’s still a lot left to learn, but that’s good.”
In that mold
Schaefer’s life forever changed when the Otters selected him first overall. It was the third time the franchise held that distinction since it moved to northwestern Pennsylvania in 1996.
If that were not enough pressure, Schaefer also was aware who Erie’s first two No. 1 picks were and their ensuing NHL accomplishments.
The Otters selected Ryan O’Reilly in 2007. O’Reilly, a 15-year veteran now with the Nashville Predators, was the Conn Smythe Trophy winner when the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues were Stanley Cup champions.
Erie’s other No. 1 overall OHL pick, Connor McDavid in 2012, looms larger than O’Reilly.
McDavid is a ninth-year Edmonton Oiler. A Stanley Cup title is the grandest honor the six-time, all-star and three-time league MVP hasn’t achieved.
Schaefer has sought to mentally distance himself from those two, as well as being the OHL’s most scrutinized rookie.
“That (draft pick) was just one step on this road,” he said. “Now, everyone in the league is just the same. You want to move on; you’ve got to work.
Schaefer has done nothing for Butler to question such a statement.
“I’ve been lucky enough to coach a lot of talented players who are also motivated,” he said. “Matt fits that mold.”
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Otters rookie Matthew Schaefer 'learning at an accelerated pace'
