Scouting Schaefer
Since 2000, four defensemen have been chosen with the No. 1 pick in the NHL draft: Owen Power (2021, Buffalo Sabres), Rasmus Dahlin (2018, Sabres), Aaron Ekblad (2014, Florida Panthers) and Erik Johnson (2006, St. Louis Blues).
How is it that Schaefer can play 17 regular-season games with Erie during his draft-eligible season yet still be considered the best of the best for the 2025 draft? He even was voted winner of the Canadian Hockey League Top Prospect Award, the second Erie player to win it after McDavid (2015).
But scouts had a history with Schaefer from when he was healthy and thriving before this season, giving them the confidence to declare he is the best player available.
That includes his success at the 2024 World Under-18s, when he had five points (one goal, four assists) in seven games and won a gold medal, and at the 2024 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, when he was Canada’s captain and won another gold medal after he had four points (one goal, three assists) in eight games.
“I’m not going to say knowing a player that has been out for most of the season while watching others play really well doesn’t have somewhat of an influence,” Central Scouting associate director David Gregory said. “But as I consistently watched and went around, talking with people in the decision-making positions, asking them if they needed to see anything more from Schaefer, the unanimous answer was, ‘No.'”
If you combine the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, his OHL games, two games at the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in November, and the 2025 World Juniors, Schaefer played 26 games this season.
At the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, he helped Canada win the gold medal with six points (two goals, four assists) in five games as Canada’s captain.
Possibly his most memorable moment came during the second period of the CHL USA Prospects Challenge at Canada Life Place in London, Ontario, on Nov. 26.
After losing his stick and then his right glove while killing a penalty, Schaefer somehow had the wherewithal to block a shot at 2:10 of the second period with the CHL holding a 2-0 lead. He’d later say he had to do something because he needed a line change.
At 5:21, Schaefer picked up a puck behind his net and began skating down the right side before beating the defenseman in the right circle, driving the net and scoring to make it 3-0 at 5:31.
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