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What’s more, beyond the stats, Schaefer is playing good, mature hockey for a rookie, and his coach, Patrick Roy, isn’t afraid to use him despite his age, as evidenced by his average ice time of 22:30 minutes so far this season. In fact, if the first pick of the last draft maintains this pace of one point per game, he could break Larry Murphy’s 45-year-old record of 76 points for a rookie defenseman. However, he still needs to maintain this pace throughout the season. Performing in October is one thing. Doing it in January, when the game is tighter, when teams are getting used to Schaefer’s style of play and he’s going to be part of his opponents’ game plan, is something else. And that’s something Cale Makar has been doing for years, in season and playoff, and he already has a Stanley Cup, a Conn Smythe Trophy and two Norris Trophies to prove it. Without taking anything away from Schaefer, let’s just say that he still has some crusts to eat, and we’ll have to wait a little longer than seven NHL games before talking about a better player than Makar. However, the Snake could very well be right. As we’ve seen so far, Schaefer is brimming with talent and has all the tools necessary to have an excellent career, and he could become the best defenseman of his generation. On the other hand, it’s still a little early to talk about him as a better defenseman than THE best current defenseman in the League in Cale Makar. And let’s not forget that Schaefer will be playing at the same time as a certain Lane Hutson, who could also have a stellar career
