Matthew Schaefer in League of His Own for Durability, Endurance

The New York Islanders are counting on Matthew Schaefer to carry a heavy workload.

Nov 7, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) skates against the New Jersey Devils during the second period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The New York Islanders have been counting on a lot of players to step up into more prominent roles with several key contributors dealing with injuries.

One of the players they are counting on to play a massive role is defenseman Matthew Schaefer. He was going to be an important part of the game plan for head coach Peter DeBoer even if the entire roster was healthy, but with Alexander Romanov on IR with an ACL injury and Ryan Pulock now sidelined, Schaefer has assumed an even bigger role on the ice.

The star defenseman is proving capable of shouldering the heavy workload. He has a superhuman ability to rest while on the ice, carrying the puck in such a fashion to regain some energy, in addition to resting on the bench.

How much has Schaefer been relied upon? He is playing a historic amount of minutes on the ice for a teenager, putting himself in a league of his own when it comes to his durability and nightly endurance for a heavy workload.

Matthew Schaefer turning into an iron man for Islanders

Nov 5, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) skates during pregame warmups prior to the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As shared by Eric Hornick of NHL.com in The Skinny following the Islanders’ 3-2 shootout loss to the San Jose Sharks, Schaefer has recorded at least 20:00 of total ice time in 87 consecutive games.

That is the longest such streak for a player who is 20 years of age or younger since ice time tracking became official. Since 1997-98, that is the longest streak for a New York player since Mark Streit set the record with 141 straight games of 20+ minutes from 2009-2011.

Against the Sharks, Schaefer logged 30:51. That is the fourth-most minutes a teenager has ever played in an NHL game. The top two entries on the list are both his: 32:16 against the Nashville Predators on Oct. 27, 2026, when he became the first player to be on the ice for an entire overtime period, and March 24, 2026, against the Chicago Blackhawks when he logged 31:59.

Nine games have been recorded in which a teenager played at least 30 minutes in a game; Schaefer is responsible for five of them. Schaefer also owns the top five single-game TOI records in Islanders franchise history.

Matthew Schaefer recorded his 48th career assist to tie Bobby Orr and Scott Stevens for the seventh most in @NHL history by a teenage defenseman.#NHLStats: https://t.co/wS98kvoyvv pic.twitter.com/Lh1vFdhlKw

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) November 10, 2026

Through his first 99 NHL games, he has logged 26+ minutes 52 times. Since TOI became an official stat, the next closest player to him is Brock Faber, who logged 26+ minutes 45 times through his first 99 games.

These numbers are truly mind-blowing, as Schafer is proving to be in a league of his own, especially for players this young, when it comes to the workload he is shouldering. His youthfulness certainly helps, as he is as spry as anyone at only 19 years old.

He has shown no signs of slowing down yet, recording a point in nine out of his last 10 games; the only time he didn’t was when New York was shut out by the Edmonton Oilers.