Milwaukee, Wis. - Of the numerous Nashville Predators prospects making their Calder Cup Playoffs debuts with the Milwaukee Admirals this spring, none of them are quite like forward Reid Schaefer.
Landing with the Predators organization via trade with the Edmonton Oilers for veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm last year, Edmonton’s 2022 first-round pick (32nd overall) concluded his final season of junior hockey in spectacular fashion.
After winning a gold medal with Team Canada in his World Junior Championship debut, Schaefer would cap off the 2022-23 regular season recording 61 points (28g-33a) in 55 games for the Western Hockey League’s Seattle Thunderbirds.
From there, Schaefer would record another 19 points (8g-11a) en route to the second WHL championship title in Thunderbirds history, then two more assists in a five-game run to the team’s first-ever appearance in the Canadian Hockey League’s Memorial Cup Final.
Needless to say, the lessons learned along the way were invaluable.
“Just to play in those big moments, that obviously helps you stay calm and composed,” Schaefer said. “Obviously, you can't get too high, you can't get too low. You’ve got to stay pretty even keeled. Little mistakes can cost you, so you want to minimize those to the best of your ability and just try and wear down your opponent. Usually then you'll end up with a good result.”
Staying even keeled has been key for Schaefer during a rookie AHL campaign that saw his production taper off considerably from his consistently high-scoring days in the WHL. Indeed, in the first 63 games of his professional North American career, Schaefer put up 21 points (7g-14a) - the bulk of which were netted during the back half of the season.
“His start was hard for him, because some of the other guys got a lot of points early in the season and he wasn't collecting a lot,” Admirals Head Coach Karl Taylor said. “So he maybe felt less than, but everyone's got their own development curve and it's very individualized."
Make no mistake, Schaefer’s growing pains are not uncommon, nor are they raising any concerns within the Predators organization.
After all, entering a professional league from Canadian Juniors - where most players age out at 21 and start as young as 16 - presents one set of challenges. Being dealt to a brand new organization during your final junior season presents another.
“It is very common and it's not a surprise,” Taylor said. “He got traded from one organization and came to a new organization, so there’s a transitional piece. Some of these other guys have been to three development camps, four development camps. They’ve been in Nashville and gone through the process, know the coaches and know everyone. And that was all new for Reid, and that was all a different world for him coming in. So, I think it was important for him to go through that. It does make it more challenging for him, but Reid is a big, strong forward who's learning how to play hard, learning how to use his assets and is just in the process of learning.