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It's the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
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Matthew Schaefer keeps making news all across the hockey world.
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We'll talk about what he's done, who's talking about him and the impact he's had on the
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Islanders this year and beyond.
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You're Lockdown Islanders, your daily podcast on the New York Islanders,
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part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
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Welcome everybody to this Wednesday bonus episode of the Lockdown Islanders podcast,
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part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.
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I want to thank everyone who makes Lockdown Islanders, your first listen every day.
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an episode. Thank you for helping to make Lockdown the number one sports podcast network.
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I'm Gil Martin. I've been covering the New York Islanders for two decades and I wrote the
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book Ice Wars. The history of the Islanders rivalry with the Rangers from 1972 till the modern era.
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So glad you could join us today to talk a little Islanders hockey and we have got a lot to get to
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on this bonus episode. This bonus episode is focused on Matthew Schaefer, the outstanding Islanders
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rookie. We'll talk about what arguably the greatest hockey player in history had to say about
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Schaefer. We'll talk about his impact on the Islanders and we'll update the calder trophy race
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as the NHL's top rookie. Let's start with Matthew Schaefer's impact on the New York Islanders.
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Right now, Schaefer is one of only two players on the New York Islanders who have scored 20 goals
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or more the other. Obviously, Bo Horvat. Keep in mind Schaefer as a defenseman has outscored
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Matthew Barzall, Anders Lee, Simon Holmstrom, JG Pazzo, Emil Heinemann. He is outscored every player
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on the New York Islanders except for Bo Horvat. And in points, right now, he's second on the
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he's second on the team in goals, second on the team in assists, second on the team in total points
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with 47 in 65 games. He is a plus 13, which has him in a tie with Matthew Barzall, Simon Holmstrom
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and Ryan Pollock, four tops on the New York Islanders. And those are numbers. And I can give you
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the numbers that say, yeah, this is, you know, and I can go into the advanced analytics and you know,
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talk about creating chances and breaking up chances and, you know, how many shots and goals
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five on five and all of that stuff. Fine. But let's talk more about some of the things that Matthew
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Schaefer has done and what he means to the New York Islanders. First of all, the Islanders
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are now 10 and 0 in games decided in overtime. That's a record. No team has ever accomplished
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that since the NHL went to three on three over time. There is no way that the Islanders are there
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without Matthew Schaefer. The speed, the vision, the passing, the desire to go to the net,
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all the many things that he brings to the table. You wouldn't be there if you had the same
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lineup as last year. And let's even say, you know, the Islanders are, as I said, 10 and 0 in games
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decided in overtime. Let's even just say they go five and five instead of 10 and 0 if Schaefer
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wasn't on the team. Take away five points from the Islanders. They go from 79 to 74 points.
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That puts them on the outside looking in in the playoff race right now, not out of it,
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but just on the outside looking in. And again, that's just the number of points they've earned
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from overtime. Then I think there's more to it. And I think we've seen it even more after the
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Olympic break, but I think we've seen it throughout the season. And this is extraordinary
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for an 18 year old rookie. Forget the numbers which are extraordinary for an 18 year old rookie.
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But here's the deal. Schaefer has essentially lifted this team and the veterans on this team
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to play better hockey. If you were able to watch the game on TNT yesterday against St. Louis and
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you heard Schaefer miked up and you heard his genuine enthusiasm for the game.
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I think you also heard the way his teammates react to what he says and does both on the ice and
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when they're celebrating. I think there is little doubt that Matthew Schaefer's presence
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has energized this roster. Usually it's the veterans who are trying to get the the rookies to respond
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and to mentor them in some ways as far as just attitude and enthusiasm. I think Matthew Schaefer
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has energized some of the veterans on this roster. I think Ryan Polock and Adam Pelleck, for example,
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have played better this year in part because they're healthier and in part because of the
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inspiration of Matthew Schaefer. That he makes them have to step up and do more things because they
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see what he's capable of doing. And I think there is just a ripple effect across this lineup. I think
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that the addition of Schaefer has meant that it's impacted Matthew Barsal and we've talked about
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that prior on the show. Barsal, 18 goals, 60 points and 64 games having one of his better seasons. His
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plus 13 is very impressive when you consider that 16 of his 60 points this year have come on the
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power play. Again, I think Barsal has been helped by having another player on this team in Schaefer
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who can keep up with him skating-wise, who can create like he can create, who goes to the net,
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and I think kind of inspires Barsie to go to the net a little more often. All of these things are
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little subtle factors that show the impact of Matthew Schaefer on the islanders right now. And then
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let's even get to this. His average time on ice, 24 minutes and 18 seconds is three minutes and 18
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seconds more than the next highest islander, which is Ryan Pollock. He is, and in recent weeks,
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in recent games, especially, let's say, since the Olympic break, he's been on the ice more than
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that. Remember, they kind of tried to start him off a little bit slowly the first week or two of
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the season, since the Olympic break and even before then, Schaefer has been playing 25, 27,
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a couple of games ago, 29 minutes did not hardly come off the ice in overtime. So I think the impact
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of Matthew Schaefer, I could probably do three shows in a row only talking about the ripple effect
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that Schaefer has. I think Patrick Wah has approached the game differently, has played a slightly
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different style as a result of having Matthew Schaefer available, a little bit more uptempo,
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a little bit more. Let's go for it. And I think that's the style that Wah always wanted this team
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to play and his teams to play. But Schaefer actually allows the team to effectively do it,
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more often, whereas in previous sets of circumstances, when the team did not have Matthew Schaefer
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available, then you're talking about a much more tricky situation where he doesn't have the tools
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to run the system he wanted to run. So the impact of Matthew Schaefer on the New York Islanders
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has been extraordinary and the beautiful thing about it from a New York Islander's standpoint
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is that this kid at age 18 has not even come close to reaching his potential. And what he'll be
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like at 21, at 24, at 27, at 32, if the Islanders can hold on to him and build a franchise around him.
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They can have Schaefer be the anchor, the cornerstone of a team that could contend for
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seven, ten years. The goal that Matthew Darsh laid out of building a contending team that will be
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like the avalanche, the stars, the lightning, the panthers, a team that's been at or near the top
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of the league for the better part of a decade. The foundation of that team is Matthew Schaefer
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and he's on there right now. So looking forward to seeing what this kid can do over time, but so far
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I have enjoyed every minute of watching Matthew Schaefer grow, play, do his thing, and be the tide
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that lifts all boats for the New York Islanders. We have more to get to on today's show. We'll talk
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about what Wayne Gretzky said about Matthew Schaefer, plus the call to race. We've got that and more
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If you saw the pre-game show before the Islanders game against the Blues on Tuesday and again this
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was a TNT game you may not have realized that right away because as you may recall you had Brendan
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in book on the call for TNT so that was a nice double bonus there for Islander fans but Gretzky
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on the pre-game show said that not only should Matthew Schaefer win the Calder trophy this year
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but that he should probably get consideration as NHL MVP and you know that's a whole different
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animal. Here's what Gretzky had to say. I'm sitting here thinking my goodness with this team B
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where they are right now without him. What about winning the MVP, the league? That's how good
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this kid has been. Now I don't agree with Wayne Gretzky that Matthew Schaefer should win the heart
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trophy. Could he get a few votes? Heart trophy is League MVP? Yes. No question about that.
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And yet to make him the league MVP when I still think that Ilja Seroken is the Islander's team MVP
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it's a little bit of a jump. Now I do think that Schaefer will win a heart trophy before his career
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is over if he continues to stay healthy, continues to develop and the Islander's win consistently
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during his tenure. I think he is more than capable of doing that. But again Gretzky take a step back
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and say would the Islanders be where they are today without Schaefer? I don't think they would be.
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I think he's spot on about that. And the impact that Matthew Schaefer has made on the New York
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Islanders is getting national media in the United States and Canada to really take notice of
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the Islanders. All of a sudden the Islanders want to, you know, networks want the Islanders
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on TV. All of a sudden the Islanders not because of who they're playing but because they are
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the Islanders are being discussed in pre-game shows, post-game shows, intermissions, hockey
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podcasts and new shows. I mean this is an Islanders podcast. So obviously I'm going to talk Islanders
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but national podcasts that are designed to cover the whole league when I'm doing locked on an HL
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and even when other hosts are hosting locked on an HL the Islanders are now
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a topic of conversation on a fairly regular basis and this doesn't happen without Matthew Schaefer.
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And just to take it a step further after Wayne Gretzky the athletic again at the three-quarter
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mark of the season they listed the favorites the top five for the call they're trophy.
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Matthew Schaefer, the runaway number one, number one on both experts ballots.
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And here is the quote in the article from the athletic.
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Matthew Schaefer is to quote the definition of the award, the player most proficient in his first
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year of competition in the national hockey league. And while it's the record breaking gold
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totals that have put it to bed, his impact on the Islanders extends to being among the league
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leaders in ice time doing it with world class skating and a great head on his shoulders,
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driving positive impact at both ends. He has single, handedly elevated the Islanders ambitions and
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even if Ivan Demidov or Beckett Seneca were to go on a 30 and 20 heater and get close to a point
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per game, Schaefer still probably runs away with the call there. So let there be no doubt who the
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favorite is for the call their trophy right now. And it's Matthew Schaefer by a landslide.
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And absolutely deserved by Matthew Schaefer. So look, this bonus episode is not the first time I'm
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going to talk extensively about Matthew Schaefer on this show. And it won't be the last time I talk
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extensively about Matthew Schaefer on this show. All I know is this kid has been absolutely
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amazing for the New York Islanders and probably is just getting started. And I absolutely love
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including our bonus episodes, access to our group chat on Discord. And if you're signed up
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use the code March to get your first month free. So head to locked on islanders.supercast.com or
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check the link in our show notes for more information. If you have a question, comment maybe a topic
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you'd like us to discuss on a future episode. You can email us at Locked On Islanders at gmail.com.
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If you leave your first name and where you're from, we're happy to mention you on the show.
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When we discuss whatever's on your mind, you can follow the show on X at Locked On Isles. You
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can follow me Gil Martin on X at Ice Wars, NYR, VSNYI. We'll keep you up to date on all things
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islanders all year long. And I am live tweeting during nearly every islanders home and road game.
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So join me for a little instant insight and analysis. And it's great to talk islanders hockey with
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you, game time or anytime. We'll be back with our regularly scheduled episode. It goes live on
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YouTube at midnight. It goes live on audio a few minutes after that. And we'll also have a bonus
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episode tomorrow. So make sure you look for that as we break down all the latest islanders news notes
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and happenings. I'm Gil Martin. Thank you so much for watching. Stay safe everybody. And of course,
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let's go islanders.
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Hey, everyone. This is Ross Jackson, one of the hosts of the Locked On Podcast Network. Thank
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