Islanders prospect Matt Maggio found pro hockey clarity thanks to concussion

It was, ironically, a concussion that gave Matt Maggio some needed clarity during his first season playing professional hockey.The Islanders prospect, who won the Red Tilson Award as the Ontario Hockey League’s MVP in 2022-23, spent the first few months of last season struggling to adapt to the demands of the AHL.Where he had been able to run rampant in juniors a few months earlier, he now came up against the physical demands of facing men every night and the coaching staff’s demands that he adhere to their systems.

He could count his point total on one hand entering Christmas break, then picked up a concussion.At one point, Bridgeport coach Rick Kowalsky recalled, Maggio leaned over to assistant coach Matt Macdonald on the team bus and told him, “I didn’t think pro hockey was gonna be this hard.”“I needed to play more simple,” Maggio said last week at rookie camp.“I needed to be harder on pucks against those bigger guys.

I need to play with energy every night, be consistent.That’s the thing I really want to focus on is being consistent.

I feel like I came back and worked my way up the lines there, ended up playing with [Ruslan] Iskhakov for most of that second half.I felt like that was great.”Maggio is only 21, but unlike most at that age, speaks about himself with learned fluency.

He finished last season with 16 goals and 11 assists on a Bridgeport team that struggled for most of the season and came to camp this year with an improved shot and total candor.The likelihood of the former fifth-round pick cracking the roster out of training camp, which starts Thursday, is low given the lack of available space.But an NHL debut via call-up this season is something Maggio could see at some point, provided he gives the Islanders reason to do so.

Sign up for Inside the Islanders by Ethan Sears, a weekly Sports+ exclusive.Please provide a valid email address.

By clicking above you agree to the Terms o...