As a smaller guy, New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio understands the importance of his shot.
As a smaller guy, New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio understands the importance of his shot.
EAST MEADOW, NY -- As a smaller guy, New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio understands the importance of his shot.
The 21-year-old, standing at 5'11 and weighing 187 pounds, is a goal scorer; there's no question about that, after scoring 56 goals in his final OHL season before scoring 16 goals in 61 games during his rookie AHL campaign with the Bridgeport Islanders.
It was a difficult transition from juniors to the OHL, as time and space aren't as readily available in pro hockey.
So, this summer, after learning valuable lessons in 2023-24, Maggio worked extra hard on his release.
"I'm pretty fortunate. I got a shooting room in my basement that my dad put in during COVID-19," Maggio told The Hockey News. "So, I get to be able to put my skates on -- I have fake ice. I finish my day, go downstairs at night, put headphones on, and shoot pucks. My dad comes and passes to me. It's great father-son time in the summer, good times.
"It's actually a little concrete room, and my dad's getting a little worried that it's caving in a little bit, so I think we have to reinforce it with some wood this summer or something."
Maggio is a big country music fan but says he may be blasting some EDM depending on the day.
In addition to working on his shot with his dad, Maggio also works with former NHL player and head coach Adam Oates.
Oates also works with Islanders forward Bo Horvat.
"Working with Adam, he's big on just the release of your shot, catching it where you want it, catching it in that pocket, and just getting it off as quick as I can," Maggio said. "So, I think I realized every goalie is so good at the pro level that if I want to beat them, I got to be quick. That's what I started to try to do in the second half of last year. And I found I was beating goalies to the post a little bit when I was scoring my goals.
"I just knew that I needed to work on that this summer and constantly improve that over the summer. And I think that just comes with age, too."
Talking with Bridgeport Islanders head coach Rick Kowalsky, who runs rookie camp, he likes the improvements he's seen in Maggio's shot but wanted to point out something important.
"it's not so much his shot. I mean, these guys can all shoot the puck, obviously. He scored, whatever it was, 56 goals. It's about getting time and space to get that shot off," Kowalsky said. "And then how quickly you get it off and not overhandle it. That's all stuff that we can show through video or talk about.
And then working with the school skills coach, because of his size, how does he get off the wall or play against bigger defensemen or free himself up to put himself in the situation to get the puck?" He's not playing against 16 to 18-year-olds. I think it's more about trying to find that space than the goals will come."
Taking what he learned last season, the hope is that Maggio can find that separation at a more consistent rate for Bridgeport.
If he can do that, the goals will come in bunches because his shot, release, and offensive creativity are NHL-caliber.