New York Islanders player Matthew Schaefer has spoken about the grief of losing his mother, Jennifer, and why he wants others to remember the person she was. She died of breast cancer in February 2024, aged 56, more than a year before Schaefer was selected first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. He is 19.
“Everybody grieves differently,” Schaefer told Us. He said he has found comfort in talking about his mother and telling people who did not know her what she was like. He also encouraged people to hold on to happy memories, rather than focus only on the final weeks of her life, when illness had taken a toll.
Schaefer remembered Jennifer as a devoted parent who continued to put her family first during cancer treatment. She supported him and his older brother, Johnny, and, he said, would try to get up and do things for them even when he needed to urge her to rest. He also recalled her smile and distinctive, infectious laugh.
On November 2, Schaefer unveiled the Jennifer Schaefer Child Support Center at Northwell’s R.J. Zuckerberg Cancer Center in Lake Success, New York. The Islanders Children’s Foundation contributed $150,000 to fund the hockey-themed room, where children can play and receive support while a parent undergoes cancer treatment. The space includes personal messages from Schaefer.
He said his mother would be honored to have her name on the room and hoped it would give children a place to play games or speak with a therapist while feeling removed from the hospital environment. Children who visit will receive a bracelet featuring a ladybug, a symbol Schaefer connected to seeing ladybugs after his mother died. The bracelets will also carry his number and Islanders colors as a message of support for the children and their families.
Sources: Us Weekly.