Matthew Schaefer wins CHL’s Top Draft Prospect award

Matthew Schaefer can add a little more hardware to his haul.

Schaefer, No. 1 in FCHockey’s Final ranking for the 2025 NHL Draft, is the recipient of the Canadian Hockey League’s Top Draft Prospect Award, annually presented to the top prospect eligible for the 2025 NHL Draft.

“It’s pretty cool,” Schaefer told media at the CHL Awards in Toronto on Friday. “It’s a big year. You work super hard for it. I obviously only played 17 games. I took it as an opportunity. A lot of guys played a lot of other games. I thought the reason I was ranked so high in that top draft prospect is because I worked as hard as I could in those 17 games and proved why. There’s a lot of great talent in this draft class. It’s pretty cool.”

Schaefer, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 OHL Draft, was limited to 17 games this season, but managed 22 points (seven goals, 15 assists) for Erie in the Ontario Hockey League. He captained Canada to gold at the 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup in August, and represented Team CHL in the CHL USA Prospects Challenge in November. The 17-year-old also played for Canada at the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, sustaining a season-ending broken clavicle early in the tournament’s second game.

“Though he didn’t get full exposure by way of injury, Schaefer showed enough through the Hlinka Gretzky and OHL season to make scouts feel more than confident he should be the top prospect in the 2025 draft,” FCHockey scout Aaron Vickers said. “His skating, overall IQ, and projected ability to be a game-changing blueliner when he hits his stride at the NHL level makes him not only the No. 1 prospect in FCHockey’s ranking but also a consensus top pick across the board — and rightfully so.”

Radim Mrtka, a defenseman, and Caleb Desnoyers, a center, were also nominated for the award.

Desnoyers, No. 4 in FCHockey’s Final ranking, had 84 points (35 goals, 49 assists) for Moncton of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. His 1.50 points per game was the second-highest in the QMJHL, and topped all NHL Draft eligibles in that circuit. Desnoyers, selected No. 1 in the 2023 QMJHL Draft, also helped Moncton to a league title, too.

Mrtka, No. 16, had 35 points (four goals, 31 assists) in 43 games for Seattle in the Western Hockey League.

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