Top NHL draft prospect Schaefer honors late-mother in not letting personal tragedies define him

When the time comes for defenseman Matthew Schaefer to take the stage at the NHL draft inside the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles this week, the top-ranked prospect won’t be climbing the stairs alone.

There’s no doubt in Schaefer’s mind his late mother Jennifer will be accompanying him in spirit. It will stand as a joyous moment for the 17-year-old Erie Otters player celebrating the person who’s been at his side for every step even after she died of cancer some 16 months ago.

“I love talking about my mom, because I talk about the happy memories instead of the sad memories,” Schaefer said.

He recalled the times Jennifer suited up in goalie equipment to face shots from him and his older brother. Even when sick, she’d muster the energy to play mini-sticks in the family basement.

“She’s always with me in spirit. I know she has a front-row seat to every game,” Schaefer added. “I just want to carry on her legacy and character and the person she was.”

His mother’s poise and strength are reflected in shaping Schaefer’s-upbeat perspective in the face of other losses and setbacks.

Some two months before Schaefer’s mother died, the mother of his billet family was struck and killed by a train in what was ruled a death by suicide. In December, he was in Ottawa representing Canada at the world junior championships when Otters owner and Schaefer’s mentor, Jim Waters, died of a heart attack. Schaefer broke his collarbone at the tournament, forcing him to miss the final three months of the season.

Through it all, Schaefer refuses to be defined by pain and tragedy.

“My mindset has changed a lot with everything. Just seeing what my mom went through, having a smile on her face with cancer kind of trying to bring her down, but she wouldn’t let it,” he said. “She’s the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

No. 1 in Central Scouting rankings

A testament to Schaefer’s perseverance: The 6-foot-2, 183-pound player from Hamilton, Ontario, has remained atop NHL Central Scouting’s rankings among North American skaters with the two-day draft opening on Friday.

Though the debate between ranking Schaefer over high-scoring OHL Saginaw Spirit center Michael Misa was close, scouting director Dan Marr said Schaefer earned the nod because of the development he showed when healthy.

Marr referred to Schaefer as “stealing the show” at Canada’s Under-18 summer camp before scoring six points (two goals, four assists) in captaining Canada to win the Hlinka/Gretzky Cup in August. After missing the start of the OHL season with mononucleosis, he posted 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 17 games with Erie before being sidelined at the world juniors.

“He’s one of the guys I think teams can safely interpret what you see is what you get,” Marr said of a two-way, fluid-skating defenseman who is responsible defensively, a play-maker offensively, and labeled “a special talent” by Central Scouting.

What’s unmeasurable is Schaefer’s character. “He’s just a breath of fresh air,” Marr said.

It’s a quality Otters forward Malcolm Spence saw in Schaefer every day as a roommate.

“He’s a guy that you wouldn’t even know what he’s gone through,” Spence said. “He wakes up every day with a smile on his face.”

Engaging personality

Schaefer’s engaging personality was on display throughout the pre-draft combine in Buffalo, New York, followed by him joining top prospects in attending Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final in Florida. In skipping the combine’s bench-press and pullup testing portions, he urged his fellow prospects to succeed.

In Florida, Schaefer recalled how his hotel room wasn’t ready upon arrival, so he took advantage of a sunny day.

“We got a little tan going on, a couple of us,” he said. “I’m happy with that. I’m pretty light as it is. I have a hockey rink tan, as I’d say.”

The only thing fazing him was being awestruck in meeting several NHL players, including Florida’s Brad Marchand and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid, a former Otters player who went No. 1 in the 2015 draft.

Schaefer elicited a laugh when saying he was rooting for the Oilers, before noting he failed to mention that in meeting Marchand.

Sharing his story

There is a serious side to Schaefer, evident during the combine. He made a point to visit a Buffalo-area outreach group for grieving youths.

Gwen Mysiak, co-founder of Western New York Compassion Connection, was impressed by how Schaefer engaged an audience that included about 15 youths, ranging in ages 7 to 17.

“When he walked through these doors, you sensed the genuine nature he has, and how passionate he is to make a difference with all his pain,” she said.

“To have peer support coming from a young man like that on the precipice of his NHL career was a gift,” added Mysiak, whose husband died two years ago. “I will be watching the NHL draft for the first time in my life because he really captured our hearts.”

Schaefer said the visit was the least he could do, noting he skipped his high school graduation ceremony to be there.

“There’s young kids that are going through tough times. A lot of people love to keep it in, and I want to try to put their minds at ease in any way,” Schaefer said, before reflecting on his experiences.

“You know, if love could have saved them, they would have lived forever. That’s a good saying I go by,” he said. “But everything happens for a reason in life. Makes me super stronger. And I want to help people.”

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