For Matthew Schaefer, being a New York Islander and playing in the National Hockey League has been a dream come true. He was taken first overall by the Islanders in the 2025 NHL Draft and went on to an amazing rookie season that culminated in winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s Rookie of the Year.
Matthew has been able to share all of his achievements with his family including his father Todd and his brother Johnny, including when he was presented with the Calder Trophy by his family on national television. But there’s someone who is not here but certainly smiling down from heaven and that’s his mother Jennifer who passed away from breast cancer in February 2024, just 16 months before her son was drafted by the Islanders.
Jennifer Schaefer Child Support RoomPeter Schwartz
Her memory certainly lives on and now her name is on a very special space that was unveiled on Monday as Northwell Health and the Islanders Children’s Foundation opened the Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Room at Zuckerberg Cancer Center for families facing cancer.
The event featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new room.
“My mother was always happy and full of life, and I hope that this room can help bring a little of her happiness to others,” said Schaefer. “I know how incredibly difficult it is for kids to watch their parents fight cancer. Having a place like this where you can come and experience joy for a little while would have been such a relief for me and my family.”
The Islanders/Matthew Schaefer-themed room provides a dedicated space for children while their parent or caregiver undergoes cancer treatment. The room features Islanders memorabilia, air hockey, gaming consoles, bubble hockey and a miniature Jumbotron with customized greetings and inspiring messages from Schaefer to the families using the room. The room is also staffed by a trained child life specialist from Cohen Children’s Medical Center and equipped with a private space where counseling will be available.
The space is exactly what the Schaefer family envisioned a room like this, something they did not have when Jennifer Schaefer was battling cancer, could be.
Support room in name of Matthew Schaefer’s mother opens on Long Island Peter Schwartz
“It’s amazing,” said Todd Schaefer. “It completely aligns with not only Matthew but us. Our parents always told us to be good people and that’s going to take you farther than any sort of job, money, salary, or anything you can do and that’s what we’ve tried to do and you can see it with Matthew. This room just embodies our family and to see my mom’s name on there is special for sure.”
The room was funded thanks to a personal contribution from Matthew Schaefer which will be used to fund programming for the children who visit. There was also a $150,000 gift from the Islanders Children’s Foundation.
Monday’s event and the construction of the room is another example of an amazing partnership between the Islanders and Northwell Health. It also speaks volumes about the Islanders’ commitment to the Long Island community.
“You’re going to see a rotating group of players and their spouses and their children come and use the facility to interact with the kids whose families are going through cancer,” said Islanders Co-Owner Jon Ledecky. “That commitment from the Islanders is steadfast. The great thing about the Islanders is that when the team shows up, they can shed light so brightly. We’re stewards of a great franchise and a great part of the community and we take that so seriously every day.”
From day one, Matthew Schaefer has embraced living on Long Island, specifically with former Islander Matt Martin and his family. He has connected so well with the Islanders fan base and has become an instant leader on the team, a big reason why this season he is wearing an “A” on his jersey home games after being named an alternate captain.
For someone whose family wouldn’t have known Long Island from Staten Island before last June, the relationship among all parties has been just about perfect.
“Just from a dad’s perspective, I speak about it all the time and I can’t put a value on it…from the day we got into Long Island, we knew nothing about New York,” said Todd Schaefer. “To come here and whether it’s the ownership, whether it’s the management… but the most important thing to me on a daily basis is the Martin family number one and the vets on this team.”
Jennifer Schaefer Child Support RoomPeter Schwartz
And speaking of the Martin family, it didn’t take long for Matt and his wife Sydney to see that Schaefer was going to fit in very well in their home…
…and that he was about as special as a then eighteen-year-old, now nineteen-year-old could be.
“When he first came over to my house, it felt like he was over the top energetic,” said Martin, who is now Special Assistant to Islanders General Manager Mathieu Darche. “He was playing with my kids for three hours and I remember Sydney being like he really wants to live here doesn’t he? Not that he was auditioning but it felt that way. The person you see on the ice, the person you see in the community with the cameras in his face is the exact same person without it. He’s not putting on an act or a show for anybody.”
While the Jennifer Schaefer Child Support is not a daycare center by definition, it is a place where children can go to while their parents or caregivers are undergoing treatment at the cancer center. In addition to the games and activities in the space, the room will be staffed at all times by a child life specialist, a trained health care professional who helps children and their families navigate the medical world.
“Every child who comes here and smiles and forgets about their troubles for a little while is a sign that my mother’s spirit lives on,” said Matthew Schaefer. “I hope these kids can feel a little bit of the tremendous love I felt from her every day.”
The room will definitely be a safe haven for children while their parent or care giver is being treated at The R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center, part of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute. Northwell treats nearly 20,000 new cancer patients each year, making it the largest provider of cancer care in New York state.
I think it’s safe to say that Jennifer Schaefer could not be happier and prouder of the room named after her.
