Matthew Schaefer makes heartbreaking social media post on Saturday.

New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer has been taking the National Hockey League by storm in his rookie season, with Schaefer a clear frontrunner for the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year and even some pundits already suggesting that he deserves serious consideration for the Norris Trophy as well.

It has been something of a dream start for the first overall pick at the 2025 NHL Entry Draft, but throughout all of it Schaefer has been dealing with an incredible emotional burden. In February of 2024, a little over a year before he was drafted into the NHL, Schaefer would suffer a terrible loss when his mother, Jennifer, lost her battle with cancer.

On Saturday, Schaefer took to social media to remember his mother on what is her birthday, posting a lovely message speaking of how much he misses her and still keeps her in his mind each and every day that goes by.

Here is Schaeffer's message unedited and in full:

Happy birthday Mom, I hope you have the best day. I love and I miss you so much. Not a day goes by without you being on my mind.

Rest in peace my angel.

The message was published to Schaeffer's Instagram story which means that it won't remain up forever, and will in fact be removed after just a few hours, but you can see a screenshot of the original message just below: