NY Islanders Have More Than Matthew Schaefer Making Offensive Impact at Blue Line

Matthew Schaefer isn't alone in making an offensive impact from the blueline for the New York Islanders.

Apr 4, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer (48) and defenseman Ryan Pulock (6) get ready for the start of the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The strength for the New York Islanders heading into the 2026-27 season is certainly the group of defensemen they have assembled.

Led by superstar-in-the-making Matthew Schaefer, the reigning Calder Trophy winner, the blueline is going to be the backbone of this team for years to come. There is a strong supporting cast around him right now, and even more help is on the way.

It won’t be long before Isaiah George, Kashawn Aitcheson and Malte Gustafsson are patrolling the blueline alongside Schaefer. For now, the team is going to use some combination of Tony DeAngelo, Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, Alexander Romanov and Scott Mayfield around their franchise cornerstone.

That is a very solid, versatile group of defensemen the Islanders have put together. There is some real offensive upside beyond Schaefer, with his most-frequently used partner, Pulock, also being a difference-maker on that end of the ice.

Ryan Pulock can be offensive weapon for Islanders

Apr 3, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock (6) carries the puck in the third period against the Philadelphia Flyers at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alexander Wohl-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As shared by Troy Perlowitz of NHL.com, the veteran right-handed defenseman has one of the deadliest long-range shots in the league. He absolutely smashes the puck when he attempts shots, producing some eye-popping advanced metrics.

He had one shot register at 103.01 mph, which was the third-hardest shot in the NHL last season. Four of his shot attempts came up as triple digits on the radar gun, which was the second most in the league; only Louis Crevier of the Buffalo Sabres had more, with six.

On New York’s list of the hardest shot attempts of the 2025-26 campaign, Pulock registered the top 14 on the list. There isn’t another player in the NHL who can stake that claim when it comes to their team’s list.

Of course, there is more to scoring goals than just shooting the puck as hard as possible at the goalie. Pulock is a great example of that, as he had more 100 mph shots than he did goals scored (3).

Islanders need little more efficiency from Ryan Pulock

Feb 3, 2026; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock (6) celebrates his goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins with teammates during the third period at UBS Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

That is the sixth consecutive season that Pulock has had single-digit goals scored. After scoring 10, nine and 10 in the three seasons from 2017 through 2019, he has not recorded more than five in a single campaign.

In each of the last three seasons, Pulock has failed to even put 100 pucks on net to register as a shot on goal. It would go a long way to elevating this offense if his hard shot attempts resulted in a little bit more offensive production.

Playing alongside Schaefer likely limits some of the impact he can have offensively, but hopefully Peter DeBoer can devise a plan that gets everyone to improve their production across the board.