Schaefer shares special message for Martin during OHL Hall of Fame induction

Matthew Schaefer couldn’t watch Matt Martin’s induction into the Sarnia Sting Hall of Fame without cracking a couple jokes.

“I guess you weren’t lying when you said you were pretty good at hockey back in the day,” Schaefer quipped in a video message to Martin during his Hall of Fame induction on Friday.

Martin played for the Sting — a junior hockey club in the Ontario Hockey League — from 2006-2009, before breaking into the NHL in 2010.

He scored 35 goals in his three seasons with the Sting.

In the League, Martin played 987 career regular season games in his 14 seasons with the New York Islanders and two years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He scored 81 goals and recorded 97 assists before announcing his retirement in 2025.

Martin now serves as the Islanders’ special assistant to the general manager and is hosting Schaefer during his rookie year with the Islanders.

“I just want to say congrats on everything,” Schaefer said in the video message. “It’s been an honor to live with you and your family, your girls, and I look up to you a lot.

“You’re a role model for me and have helped me so much in my first season and just in life with everything. So congrats on a great achievement and I’ll see you back at home.”