As Matt Martin transitions into his new front-office role with the New York Islanders, he continues to keep a close eye on the team\u2019s rising star, first overall pick Matthew Schaefer. Martin, known for his gritty play on the ice, has been consistently impressed by Schaefer\u2019s combination of skill and character. Schaefer, a dynamic offensive defenseman, has caught the attention of Martin, who believes that the most crucial position in today\u2019s NHL is the puck-moving defenseman.<\/p>\n
“That dynamic offensive defenseman is the most important position in today\u2019s game,” Martin said on The Cam and Stick Podcast. Drawing comparisons to some of the league\u2019s best, Martin pointed out that the most successful teams have players like Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, and Quinn Hughes, who are elite puck movers. “Schaefer\u2019s 6’2″, still a kid, but moves like a forward. Watching him at development camp\u2014he\u2019s got that Marner edge control, where his body\u2019s going one way and his feet another. It\u2019s insane.”<\/p>\n
Off the ice, Martin has been equally impressed by Schaefer\u2019s maturity and humility. Despite being just 18 years old, Schaefer\u2019s character has left a significant impact on his veteran teammates. \u201cThe maturity, the gratitude, the humility\u2014it\u2019s rare,\u201d Martin shared. \u201cYou talk to him and forget he\u2019s 18.\u201d He went on to describe a conversation where they spoke for over an hour, noting that the young defenseman\u2019s down-to-earth nature stood out. “He\u2019s the kind of person you want in your locker room and your community,” Martin added.<\/p>\n
Martin believes the Islanders are fortunate to have Schaefer, not just because they secured the first overall pick, but because Schaefer will grow into a great player and an even greater person. \u201cHe\u2019s going to grow into a great man and an elite player,\u201d Martin said, reaffirming his belief that Schaefer is the total package.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Matt Martin transitions into his new front-office role with the New York Islanders, he continues to keep…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-40633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}