2025 NHL Draft prospect Schaefer inspired by memory of late mother

Ken Peroff took a beat on the other end of the line before answering the question.

The Erie assistant coach had to know it was coming. All the same, he left the impression that he wanted to collect his thoughts in order to provide a thoughtful answer when he was asked about what he has learned about Matthew Schaefer over the past year.

“Just how much he loves the game,” Peroff said after a brief pause. “I think he found hockey probably a bit of a safe place for him. Once you get on the ice and, you know, that puck zipping around and you’re out there and you’re competing, it’s good for him to just kind of get his mind off some of the things that were maybe going on off the ice.”

The question came because the young Ontario Hockey Leage defenseman was not spared by fate last season. Not one bit.

His mother, Jennifer, died of breast cancer at the age of 56 last February after a two-year battle with the disease. That tragic loss happened three months after his billet mother, Emily Matson, died by suicide.

That would be a lot for anyone to handle emotionally, especially a 16-year-old. But Schaefer found the strength to get back out on the ice quickly, just two weeks after his mother died.

“I obviously miss her so much,” Schaefer told LNH.com. “She was definitely one of the strongest people I know because she had to go through so much. And, of course, you never want to see your mom go through that. But I know she's going to be here with me every day, no matter what I'm doing. She's always right by my side with her strength. She's a tough woman.”

That might partly explain why Schaefer, despite everything he has been through, has managed to stay the course and continue his progress to become one of the most closely watched players for the 2025 NHL Draft. His name is mentioned more and more when the No. 1 pick is discussed.

He is also one of the 33 players taking part in Canada’s selection camp in Ottawa this week for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, a rare opportunity for a 17-year-old player. And he stands a good chance of making the final roster there.

But talking with Schaefer you wouldn’t realize that he is so coveted by NHL teams. The young man is as humble as can be, and the maturity he has so painfully acquired by the tragic events he has had to confront can be felt a mile away.

“You look into Matthew Schaefer, and you understand some of the hardships that he's gone through over the last couple years,” Peroff said. “You understand the person and the personality that he has, and just how comfortable he is in his own skin. And just the support system that he has and that he's created by just being a good human being with his peers.

“He's such a good teammate, and I think when he needed his teammates, they were there for him. His family is very close. I know he's very close with his brother, he's very close with his dad. Both of them are always there for him.”

It’s clear that Schaefer doesn’t need to sell himself when NHL executives ask him how he reacts to adversity. Inspired by his mother, he has shown enormous strength in recent months to get back on track.

Even when life threw another curveball at him.

After helping Canada win gold at the 2024 IIHF World Under-18 Championship in April and the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, he was felled by mononucleosis. He missed the first nine games of the season but picked up right where he left off when he recovered and got back on the ice again.

“Yeah, honestly, I was dying to come back,” Schaefer said. “Just watching games, I was itching. Obviously it's tough missing games at the start, but I'd rather come back at 110 percent than not that healthy. But I was definitely eager to come back and play. So when I came back I had a little bit of jump to my game, for sure.”

And it showed. Once the time came to head to Ottawa for Canada’s selection camp, he had 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) in 17 games, five more points than he had in 56 games last season.

“He's at a point now where on any given night, he could be the best player on the ice,” Peroff said. “You know, his real unique ability is his ability to drive play, starting from his own zone, in the neutral zone, beat guys up ice, create numerical advantages up the ice in rush situations. But the subtleties and nuances to the way he defends are probably underrated, and he's a pretty complete player.

“So every time he puts himself in those situations, on big stages, he's been able to perform. And we've got a ton of confidence here, from what we see on a game-to-game basis in Erie. So we don't see any reason why that can't continue.”

If he makes Canada's World Junior team, Schaefer will spend his first Christmas without his mother surrounded, in a hockey environment, by his family and his teammates.

And that would probably mean everything to him now.