Matthew Schaefer lauded by Patrick Roy, Isles after 'confident' NHL debut - ESPN

PITTSBURGH — Matthew Schaefer jumped onto the darkened ice at PPG Paints Arena and, along with New York Islanders teammate Maxim Shabanov, took the traditional solo lap every player makes before his NHL debut.

It's the only time the 18-year-old Schaefer looked like a rookie all night during New York's 4-3 loss to Pittsburgh.

Confident and poised from the opening faceoff, the top pick in the June draft wasted little time showcasing why the Islanders coveted him after the balls bounced their way during the draft lottery.

Schaefer needed all of 12 minutes to collect the first point of his career, making a deft pass from the half wall to Jonathan Drouin in the slot. Drouin's knuckler fluttered by Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry to pull New York even.

«Our team is so easy to make plays with, everyone is in the right spot,» Schaefer said with a shrug. «I found [Drouin] there, and it was an easy pass to him and of course he puts it in the back of the net.»

Islanders coach Patrick Roy didn't hesitate to go to Schaefer, who played more than seven minutes in the opening period alone. Schaefer finished with 17:15 of ice time in all, including some with the New York net empty late as the Islanders tried to tie it.

«I thought he was really good,» Roy said of Schaefer. «He was good at the end. Throwing pucks at the net. I thought that he seemed very comfortable, very confident out there. So I'm very pleased with him.»

Schaefer, who had around 30 friends and family in attendance, admitted there were some jitters during his first couple of shifts, but he didn't exactly genuflect in the direction of Penguins icons Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. The club's big three are entering their 20th season playing alongside each