Matthew Schaefer, Alexander Nikishin Headline NHL's 2025-26 All-Rookie Team

New York Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer is adding another NHL honor following his Calder Trophy-winning rookie campaign.

Schaefer was one of six players named Friday to the NHL's 2025-26 All-Rookie team.

Calder Trophy finalists Ivan Demidov of the Montreal Canadiens and Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks also earned All-Rookie honors.

Joining them on the All-Rookie team were the St. Louis Blues' Jimmy Snuggerud, Carolina Hurricanes' Alexander Nikishin and Montreal Canadiens' Jakub Dobeš.

Nikishin, the only member of the group still active in the playoffs, has capped off his rookie season by playing a key role in the Hurricanes' run to the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals.

After setting a franchise record for defensemen with 11 goals and ranking second only to Schaefer for the rookie lead during the regular season, Nikishin has averaged more than 15 minutes per game during the Canes' postseason run.

Demidov and Dobeš earned the honor after helping the Canadiens reach the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in five years.

Dobeš led all rookie goaltenders during the regular season with 29 wins after starting out the season on a six-game win streak. That helped make him the winningest first-year netminder for the Canadiens since Ken Dryden in 1972.

Demidov paced all rookies in assists while becoming the seventh rookie in Canadiens history to top 60 points in a single season.

Sennecke helped the Ducks make the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons by tying Schaefer for the rookie lead with 23 goals. Snuggerud became the Blues' first All-Rookie Team selection since Jordan Binnington in 2019 after sharing the rookie lead with five game-winning goals out of his 21 tallies.

Schaefer headlines the team after becoming the youngest Calder Trophy winner in NHL history as well as the first unanimous selection since Temmu Selanne in 1993.

The top pick of the 2025 draft broke a series of rookie and teenage NHL records during his first season with the Isles. That included becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to become the first rookie to score his 20th goal and the highest average ice time ever recorded by an 18-year-old player.

Demidov led all players in All-Rookie voting with 195 votes, followed by Schaefer (194 votes) and Sennecke (191 votes).

The Minnesota Wild's Jesper Wallstedt received the second-most votes among rookie goaltenders.

The Vancouver Canucks' Zeev Buium led the runners-up on defense, while the Washington Capitals' Cole Hutson, Calgary Flames' Yan Kuznetsov and Detroit Red Wings' Axel Sandin-Pellikka also received votes.

The Capitals' Ryan Leonard, Boston Bruins' Fraser Minten and Pittsburgh Penguins' Ben Kindel finished as top runners up among All-Rookie forwards.