Matthew Maggio makes good impression at Islanders' development camp

Matthew Maggio knows he must be doing something right.

“I’m just at the start of my career, but they say expectations come because of the hard work and all the preparation that you put in,” the Islanders’ fifth-round pick in 2022 said on Friday after the second practice of the team’s development camp at Northwell Health Ice Center in East Meadow.

“I’m at a point where I have put so much in and I’m confident in myself and I want people to have expectations of me. If there weren’t any expectations, that means I’m doing something wrong.”

There certainly are many more expectations for the 5-11, 187-pound wing now after he blossomed with Windsor last season, scoring 54 goals with 57 assists in 66 games and being named the Ontario Hockey League’s most outstanding player. He increased his point total by 26 over his previous junior season in the same amount of games.

He then added two assists in three games with the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport, giving him a brief first taste of professional hockey.

The Islanders, of course, have a need for a high-scoring wing.

“My first year, I just wanted to come in and get used to it,” Maggio said. “Now I’m on a mission. So whether it’s this year or next year, however many years, I’m going to keep working so I can stay.”

The Islanders potentially have 13 forwards — out of likely 14 roster spots — already with a firm grasp on a role. So it’s a decided long shot for Maggio to make the NHL after his second development camp with the Islanders.

But to use an often-stated players’ mantra, Maggio knows he can control only his own effort and execution.

“I’m still young and I still have so much to learn and they’re doing a great job here with me,” the 20-year-old said. “I’m at a point where you want to make this team as quickly as you can. But I trust New York and the plan that they have for me. So if it doesn’t happen this year, it doesn’t happen this year. But I want to try to make as good an impression as I can.”

Maggio already did that last year during his first time at Islanders camp.

“I really liked his camp last fall,” said Bridgeport coach Rick Kowalsky, who is running the on-ice sessions at development camp. “It’s tough when those guys come right out of juniors or college [toward the end of the season]. Even though we knew him and knew his game, you’re playing at a time of the year when the games are so important and you’re stepping into a very high level of pro hockey against men. It was a bit of an adjustment for him.

“It’s great to use that from a confidence standpoint.”

By Andrew Gross

andrew.gross@newsday.comAGrossNewsday

Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.