Patrick Roy praises Matthew Schaefer after impressive debut.

When you are the first overall pick in any National Hockey League Entry Draft there are going to be a lot of expectations placed on your shoulders. 2025 first overall pick Matthew Schaefer is no exception no to that rule, and on Sunday night he delivered on those expectations in a major way.

Fans were buzzing every time Schaefer hit the ice and it was immediately obvious that Schaefer truly belonged at the NHL level. There was perhaps no single moment that better encapsulated Schaefer's impressive preseason debut than his incredible backcheck on what should have been a breakaway for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Here it is again from another angle:

Schaefer not only managed to impress the fans in attendance on Sunday night, but also managed to earn high praise from his coach, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. New York Islanders head coach Patrick Roy was practically gushing over Schaefer's performance after the game.

"It's pretty exciting to see him play," said Roy. "The backcheck that he made on the breakaway was out of this world."

Roy also commented on how quickly Schaefer has won over the fans in Long Island.

"He's only 18 years old," said Roy. "It's pretty impressive to see the way he's playing, and you can tell the fans love him."

It wasn't a perfect night for Schaefer who had a costly turnover during the game but, when asked about the turnover, Roy was having none of it.

"We didn't do a very good job forward-wise," said Roy. "We were all turning. If one had stood up on the strong side, it would have been an easy pass for him. So we didn't give him much of a chance on that play. Between you and I, it happens. I mean, I fumbled a few bucks in my career. I could tell you that. It happens. I mean, no one's perfect, but he's a strong person as well. I mean, it didn't let that affect him, and we won't let that affect him. I could tell you that. We want him to play his game, and we want him to play with confidence. Confidence is a big, big thing in the game, for any player in any sport. He's strong mentally. I don't think it affected him at all."

Islanders fans appear to have good reason to be excited about their first overall pick.