""He had a great camp," Darche said on a Zoom teleconference shortly after the Islanders released their roster ahead of the NHL's Monday afternoon deadline. "You saw it all. His skating abilities. He got better as camp went on. So he's proven that he deserves to be in the lineup on Thursday in Pittsburgh. We'll go from there. "You've seen teams having young guys. They keep them up and they manage the workload. But like I said from the start, the way he's going to play is going to dictate what we do. He's completely earned his spot on the team and in the lineup on Oct. 9.""
"Schaefer, who has been paired with veteran Scott Mayfield since training camp opened, can play up to nine games in the NHL without the first season of his three-year, $2.93 million entry-level deal counting against future seasons. But Schaefer is not age-eligible to be sent to the Islanders' AHL affiliate in Bridgeport so the only option would be to return him to his junior team, Erie of the Ontario Hockey League. That would offer few benefits to Schaefer's development."
Mathieu Darche made Schaefer's roster status official ahead of the NHL deadline, confirming the 18-year-old made the team out of training camp and will be in the lineup for the season opener in Pittsburgh. Darche highlighted Schaefer's skating, improvement through camp, and that Schaefer earned the spot. Schaefer has a three-year, $2.93 million entry-level deal and can play up to nine NHL games without burning the first contract year. Schaefer is not eligible for AHL assignment and would otherwise return to Erie (OHL), which would offer limited development benefit. Schaefer will slot as the third-pairing defenseman and likely receive time on the second power-play unit. He missed significant time last season after breaking his collarbone while playing for Team Canada at the World Junior Championships.
Read at Newsday
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