EXCLUSIVE: Patience Is Paying Off For Islanders Prospect Matthew Maggio

No one has higher expectations for New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio than himself. The Hockey News chatted with Maggio, who is currently on a heater for Bridgeport.

BRIDGEPORT, CT -- No one has higher expectations for New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio than himself. 

Despite a tremendous amount of success in his final season of juniors, taking home OHL Player of the Year honors after 111 points (54 goals, 57 assists) in 63 games, the Windsor Spitfires captain knew that the jump he was about to make from juniors to the pros was a colossal one. 

That meant he needed to temper his expectations. 

During training camp, Maggio didn't look out of place amongst the NHLers, skating more often than not alongside Anders Lee and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. 

It was clear that Maggio had NHL potential but needed some seasoning in the AHL before even being considered a call-up option in 2023-24 after playing a few games from Bridgeport at the end of the 2022-23 season. 

Maggio's confidence toward the end of training camp was precisely where it should have been.

When the Bridgeport Islanders season began, Maggio struggled to find the scoresheet often enough for his liking. And his patience started to run thin. 

Flash-forward to now, and Maggio is just starting to find his game.

"It's been a long year," Maggio told The Hockey News. "Obviously, when you're not winning games, it's frustrating, and it takes a toll on you, but I think there's been a lot of growing."

Maggio is one of the hotter Bridgeport players at the moment, with three goals and an assist over his last three games. 

His first of three goals came in the first period against the Providence Bruins, using speed, a quick read, and strong edge work before going to the backhand for a highlight-reel goal:

In the 2-1 win over the LavaL Rockets this past Sunday, Maggio found the back of the net twice, the second of the two coming in overtime after showing off the edge work before going high glove side:

Maggio got behind the defensemen on his first goal before a sweet finish glove side:

"Coming into this year, you want to have success right away, and I know that I had those expectations for myself, but it's a whole new league, and I had to learn how to adjust to pro," Maggio said. "Just like my rookie season in the OHL, you have to adjust and learn how to play here and what's effective, and that takes time."

It was clear in that final OHL season that Maggio has offensive talent, so the coaching staff in Bridgeport have helped the first-year pro focus on his 200-foot game. 

"You'd love to step in right away and be able to have an impact every night, but I think I needed to learn how to be defensively responsible first and get the coach's trust," Maggio said. "Then kind of build on that and start to show my offensive creativity and flash.

"I think that's been a work in progress, and I'm really out there kind of feeling on my game again and feeling like it's starting to come back for me and feeling the way I did last year at times."

In December, Maggio missed some time with a head injury and used that time to reflect on the start of his AHL career. 

"That's tough. Every time you get injured, it's not good, and especially when it's your head, you got to be very careful with that," Maggio said. 

"I think just coming back -- and it was a nice reset -- but I think I was a little rusty," Maggio said. "I think over that time, I had time to reflect on my first half and figure out what I could do better and figure out what I was doing well, so I think that helped."

To this point, Maggio has appeared in 38 games for Bridgeport, tallying nine goals and six assists for 15 points.

While Maggio's been focusing on his play away from the puck, his quick release and quick decisions have earned him his power-play time.

"Anytime you can get out there on the power play, I think that's when you can really show your offensive flash and have the puck on your stick," Maggio said. 

What Maggio learns on the power play will likely correlate to more success at even strength. 

"There's really not much space out here so you can get on the power play and use your speed and create chances," Maggio said. "That's obviously a big confidence booster, and I'm going to translate it to five-on-five."

Patience is something that Maggio is following for his career progression. 

He wants more success at the moment but realizes that it takes time when moving up leagues. 

In his first year in the OHL, Maggio had 14 points in 45 games. Then, in his sophomore season, he averaged well over a point per game, with 85 points in 66 games. 

"I mean, everyone says that [going from juniors to the AHL] is the biggest jump in hockey that you can make," Maggio said. "There's the jump from minor hockey to the OHL, which is probably the second biggest jump, and then everyone says this is the biggest one. 

"I'm just trying to not get frustrated [when things aren't going well]. 

Maggio's learned a tremendous amount this season, the most important lesson being that there is no need to rush toward being a complete player. 

"I had higher expectations for myself, but I think the coaches stuck with it and kept reminding me that it's my first 20-30 games of the year, and it's not just me that was really struggling with offense," Maggio said. "The whole team was kind of having an offensive problem there.

"I think [the coaches] did a great job of helping me through that and giving me confidence that it's going to come and just to stick with it and be patient."

This season is the first time Maggio is playing hockey against players, not his age or younger. There are players in the AHL who have reached the NHL, and even if they have remained in the AHL for quite some time, it's the second-best league on the planet. 

"I have full confidence in myself, and I know you play these guys that have played in that league," Maggio said. "it's just awesome watching them when you're not on the ice."

Maggio is a grinding forward with offensive upside who understands the likely way he'll make it to the NHL. And he's watching players with a similar skillsets who have made it to the NHL to his to improve his game. 

"(Adam) Gaudette on Springfield. (Jonny) Brodzinski when he was down at the start of the year, Maggio said. "There's guys around the league where I'm watching them and seeing how I can transfer what they bring into my skill set and just trying to learn from them.

Maggio got a taste of NHL action during this past preseason, and now he wants it like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

"I know what it takes to get there, and I'm not where I ultimately want to be right now," Maggio said. "But it's a process, and I know that I have time, as the organization keeps reminding me that.

"As much as we want to be in the NHL right away, it is a process, and this is where you're going to develop."

Maggio knows that if he needs to improve one area of his game if he's going to play in the NHL. 

"I know that I need to get stronger," Maggio said. "I need to be more physical, so I'm in the gym every day."

Maggio told us in an earlier interview that he sometimes went to the gym twice a day during the summer. 

There are no off days for Maggio. 

"Our trainer here is doing a great job with me. He's making me come in on off days," Maggio said. "He's making me workout extra by myself after practice and stuff like that and really just trying to get stronger, so when the time does come, I'm ready."

Maggio and Bridgeport are back in action on Wednesday night at 7 PM ET against the Hartford Wolfpack, the New York Rangers NHL squad.