 He followed in his brother Peter Schaefer's footsteps and became the second person from Yellow Grass to be drafted and play in the National Hockey League (NHL).Schaefer signed a contract with San Jose on August 19, 2003, and spent three seasons playing with the Sharks' AHL affiliate Cleveland Barons (The Barons moved to Worcester, Massachusetts and changed the team name to the Sharks in 2006).On August 15, 2005, he was re-signed to a one-year contract as a restricted free agent by San Jose.