The New York Islanders lost their captain over the summer, as Anders Lee decided to move on by signing a three-year contract with the Utah Mammoth. That meant that the captaincy was now wide open for the club, and they filled that void by naming forward Bo Horvat his official successor.
Horvat, who was previously the captain of the Vancouver Canucks, became the 16th captain in Islanders history. But already looking ahead, Islanders coach Peter DeBoer, who took over from the fired Patrick Roy near the end of last season, believes he knows who will eventually wear the “C” on his jersey.
When speaking about defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's best rookie for 2025-26, DeBoer said that he'll be the future captain of the club.
Article Continues Below“He’s going to be a future captain of this team,” he said of Schaefer via Stefen Rosner on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Schaefer, whom the Islanders took with the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, made an immediate impact in his rookie year with a point in each of his first six games and earning NHL Rookie of the Month honors in October. He soon became the youngest defenseman to reach 20 goals and 50 points while setting Islanders rookie records for goals and points by a defenseman.
Schaefer finished with 23 goals and 59 points in 82 games, tying for the rookie scoring lead in goals. He was unanimously named the winner of the Calder Trophy, becoming the Islanders' first winner since Mathew Barzal in 2018. He also earned a spot on the NHL All-Rookie Team.