NY Islanders: Matthew Maggio is finding comfort alongside players he's looked up to

After three days of drills and getting back into the groove of things, the NY Islanders scrimmaged amongst themselves today as they ramped things up at training camp. 

In his second camp, Matthew Maggio has continued to impress his teammates and coaching staff, as the former OHL MVP hopes to steal a roster spot on opening night. His drive and abilities in the offensive end have caught the eye of Lane Lambert and teammates, who have taken notice during the team's first game-like action of camp.

“Maggio just goes to the net. He wants the puck,” said Lambert. “He’s around the puck, and I don’t think... he certainly hasn’t changed in that aspect. He had a couple of really good chances."

Maggio didn't find the back of the net in today's scrimmage, but created chances and showed off a nifty move during one of the shootouts the teams had between periods, but was stoned by Ilya Sorokin.

Maggio has spent the majority of camp playing alongside two staples with the Islanders, Anders Lee and JG Pageau. Lambert has had young players playing alongside veterans since the start of camp, but Maggio seems to be building chemistry with two players he’s looked up to over the years.

"It's pretty unbelievable," said Maggio about playing alongside Lee and Pageau. "They're guys who have been established in the league for so long now. They're guys you looked up to as kids, so I think it's pretty cool. I was a pretty big fan of Pageau when he played in Ottawa, so to be on his line now is something that's pretty funny. And obviously, Lee has been one of the best captains in the league for so long now. He's one of the staples in the league."

Maggio is trying to pick the minds of his linemates in camp, gathering intel from two players who have been established players for years now.

"You can kind of just see both their IQs and the way they play," said Maggio. "They play a simple game but it's so effective. They're so good at what they do so just tagging along with them, they've been great with just supporting me and making me feel comfortable."

While Lambert mentioned today that the lines we've seen in camp aren't necessarily the ones we'll see in pre-season, with the first being tomorrow night against the NY Rangers, it will be interesting to see if he elects to keep Maggio, Lee, and Pageau together.