By now, the highlights of rookie Matthew Schaefer doing something special in a game are becoming a nightly occurrence.
Unfortunately for the New York Islanders defenseman, so too are the attempts from opponents to physically knock him off his game.
There was the game against the Detroit Red Wings on Oct. 25, when Mason Appleton went after Schaefer in the dying seconds of a 7-2 blowout win for the Islanders. Two nights later, Schaefer picked up his first roughing penalty after getting tangled up with Philadelphia Flyers winger Nikita Grebenkin.
And on Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins once again targeted the youngster with defenseman Nikita Zadorov cross-checking Schaefer to the ground and then delivering a cheap shot to Schaefer's face as he was on the ice.
To the Islanders' credit, Schaefer's teammates came to his defense, with Anthony Duclair and Anders Lee literally jumping on top of the 6-foot-7 and 255-pound Zadorov.
"We're a family here… I know they always have my back, and they know I will always have their backs," Schaefer told reporters post-game.
That's the kind of response you love to see. But at the same time, the message isn't exactly being delivered in a way that prevents this from happening again.
Following the game, Zadorov basically laughed off the response from the Islanders and their fans, who flooded his Instagram with nasty direct messages.
"Get out of my DMs and go to the rink to cheer for your team," Zadorov replied. "That place was a library tonight."
Nikita Zadorov Trolls Islanders & Fans After Schaefer ScrumThe <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/boston-bruins">Boston Bruins</a> found a way to win another hockey game last night, toppling the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-islanders">New York Islanders</a> 4-3 in a shootout.
In other words, Schaefer is not off-limits. Not by a long shot.
One month in, it is clear that the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, who has five goals and 11 points in 13 games, is skating with a target on his back. It's also clear that despite the Islanders' best intentions, Schaefer keeps getting attacked.
Some might argue that this is a rite of passage for any young player. After all, Sidney Crosby picked up 110 penalty minutes as a rookie in the NHL, while Connor McDavid missed almost half his rookie season after fracturing his clavicle on a dirty hit from Philadelphia's Brandon Manning.
That is the path that Schaefer is on.
The more games he plays, the more teams are going to target him. Eventually, he's going to either have to fight back (like Crosby) or risk a major injury (like McDavid), unless Islanders management steps up and does something.
“Teams are starting to see how good he really is,” Duclair told reporters. “Obviously, you want to be hard on good players. We try to do the same with their star players, so he definitely is going to have a target on his back all year. We’re here to protect him.”
It's one thing for the players to have his back. But it's now time for GM Mathieu Darche to do the same.
Which raises the question: how much more can Schaefer take before the Islanders get an enforcer to protect their most valuable asset?
Remember, this is not a veteran. Schaefer, who is 18 years old, is basically a kid. Last year, he was playing in major junior against other teenagers. Now, he's getting roughed up by a hulking man in Zadorov who weighs 255 pounds.
When Auston Matthews was a rookie, the Leafs signed Matt Martin to "keep the flies off", as then-coach Mike Babcock said. The San Jose Sharks took a similar approach this season by trading for heavyweight Ryan Reaves as protection for Macklin Celebrini.
Martin, who happens to be Schaefer's landlord this season, is no longer playing. But after watching Schaefer get continually roughed up, the Islanders might want to bring back Martin or at least trade for an enforcer who can act as a bodyguard.
Perhaps they already have the answer on their team in defense partner Scott Mayfield. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound blueliner has 488 career penalty minutes and has fought tough guys Garnet Hathaway, Kurtis MacDermid, Ryan Lindgren and Andreas Englund in the past two years. But he's only had one fight per season in the past four, according to hockeyfights.com.
If they don't find someone to answer the bell more often, this could be a long — and painful — season for the Islanders rookie.
"Eventually, he’s going to have the same protection that the star players get,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy told reporters. “I hope (the wait for that is) not too long.”
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