{"time":1772200346805,"blocks":[{"id":"ldLAPyVlAm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"The 2026 Calder Trophy race has been a fun one to watch this season. On Thursday night, two rookies went head-to-head when New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer battled Montreal Canadiens forward Ivan Demidov at the Bell Centre. "}},{"id":"97MLsSvZUn","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"And, let's just say, that Canadiens fans saw why Schaefer is the clear front-runner for the award, despite Demidov's brilliance this season."}},{"id":"fqf3OcwtGm","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There's no question that Demidov, 20, is a tremendous player. But there's elite, and then there's generational, and Schaefer is the latter. "}},{"id":"e9PwZogAnX","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"With the Islanders down 2-0, Schaefer scored twice in 55 seconds to get the game tied up before the second period came to a close. Then, after an Anders Lee tally tied the game late after the Islanders trailed yet again, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the game-winning goal in overtime."}},{"id":"HAzfdXjyLX","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-matthew-schaefer-breaks-nhl-record-for-goals-by-18-year-old-defenseman","meta":{"title":"Islanders Beat Canadiens 4-3 In Overtime On Historic Night For Matthew Schaefer","site_name":"The Hockey News","url":"https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders/latest-news/islanders-matthew-schaefer-breaks-nhl-record-for-goals-by-18-year-old-defenseman","description":"Rookie sensation Matthew Schaefer shattered scoring records, netting a historic two-goal performance before Jean-Gabriel Pageau played hero. ","image":{"url":"https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/31c6d655-d2a3-4ae7-ab62-09ed3096c76d.jpeg","type":"jpeg"}}}},{"id":"7d99QVpwVv","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Demidov leads all rookies with 47 points (12 goals, 35 assists) in 58 games. There's no denying that. "}},{"id":"5EjI4glbUv","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"But Schaefer's 41 points as a defenseman in 59 games are incredible, let alone the fact that he's scored 18 goals, which puts him second behind Anaheim Ducks' rookie Beckett Sennecke. His 23 assists rank third."}},{"id":"gIoMW_ckiz","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Any other year, Demidov would be walking away with hardware. But this isn't any other year. He's going up against an 18-year-old who is accomplishing things at the NHL level that the league has never seen."}},{"id":"TYEzGOkL9z","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Most players have ceilings. Schaefer does not. "}},{"id":"7FZcf1ufu9","type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"There are over 20 games left before Demidov and Schaefer's rookie seasons come to a close. Both should be proud of what they've been able to accomplish, but there can only be one winner, and right now, it's Schaefer's award to lose."}}],"version":"2.31.0"}

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