NHL phenom Matthew Schaefer dishes on growing Tom Brady relationship

NHL wunderkind Matthew Schaefer has left hockey fans in awe during his rookie season with the Islanders.

In a recent meeting with Tom Brady, it was the 18-year-old phenom who was in disbelief.

Schaefer chatted with the University of Michigan and NFL legend after partnering to promote the athletic sportswear brand NOBULL, and came away extremely impressed.

“He's awesome,” Schaefer told DJ Siddiqi in an exclusive interview. “I talked to him for probably a solid five-to-10 minutes and we were just talking about life and everything. He was like, 'Well, I can't wait to partner with you.’ I'm like, 'You can't wait? I can't wait to partner with you.' It was so cool. Hopefully I'll get to meet him. He was a great guy."

Brady is widely considered the best NFL player of all-time, and he hasn’t slowed down in retirement, taking on various business ventures.

Schaefer is impressed by Brady’s zeal for entrepreneurship.

"He's obviously a busy guy,” Schaefer said. “I don't think I will ever be as busy as him. He's doing so much, and he's so focused with NOBULL and stuff like that. He's always looking to improve the brand no matter what.

"Everything I've heard is so many great things just from the start. He's taken so much care of everything he's done. He’s put so much effort into it, to make it be the best thing possible.”

Schaefer said he and Brady have one thing in common that has led to their athletic success: they are perfectionists.

“The biggest thing that I stand by, and I think Tom and (NOBULL co-owner) Mike (Repole) are both this: they want to be perfectionists,” Schaefer said. “Nobody will ever be perfect, but they are guys that want to be, that want to give it their all each and every day.”