Matthew Schaefer is heading into another season with a familiar home away from home.
Matt Martin said in a recent SiriusXM interview that Schaefer will live with him and his family again this season, keeping a bond that has already grown beyond a simple housing setup for a young player settling in on Long Island.
Martin said the connection was obvious almost right away. “From the moment he kind of stepped in our house and met our family before it was ever decided that he was going to live with us, you just feel the type of kid he is, the type of energy he has,” Martin said.
The arrangement has taken on extra meaning since Martin retired. His kids used to be the ones in the stands watching their father play for the Islanders, and now they have a new player to latch onto.
“They’re watching him now,” Martin said. “He’s giving them pucks in warm-ups, like I used to.”
Martin added that his children still root for the whole team, but Schaefer has become the player they follow in that same close-up, personal way.
Martin also said Schaefer stopped by his hockey camp recently and drew an immediate reaction from the young players there. “The place was going bananas for him,” Martin said.
“He does his best to give everyone the time of day.” Martin called Schaefer “one of a kind,” crediting both the way he carries himself and the way he connects with kids.
That kind of presence, paired with what Martin sees on the ice, is part of why the Islanders are so intrigued by what Schaefer can become. “You combine that with the type of player he is, and the Islanders have something special for a long time,” Martin said. What began as a practical living arrangement has clearly turned into something deeper for Schaefer and the Martin family.
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