NY Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio is now teammates, possibly linemates with Shane Wright
With the IIHF World Junior Championships coming to a conclusion and the OHL Trade Deadline approaching on Tuesday, movement around the OHL picked up prior to Tuesday's deadline which included the fourth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft, Shane Wright. Wright was traded from the Kingston Frontenacs, the club where he was named the youngest captain in Frontenacs franchise history, to the Windsor Spitfires on Monday night. That's good news for NY Islanders prospect, Matthew Maggio, as he'll not only have a new impact teammate but a new impact linemate as well.
Believed to be the consensus No.1 overall pick of the 2022 NHL draft, Wright ultimately fell to the Settle Kraken at fourth overall last summer. He struggled to remain in the Kraken's lineup to start the season and was later loaned to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL on a four-game conditioning stint. He returned to the Kraken for a game against the Montreal Canadiens (who passed on Wright at first overall), scoring a goal in a 4-2 loss.
Wright was then loaned to Team Canada for the World Junior Championships this winter and was named captain of the team. Wright had an excellent tournament collecting four goals and seven points in seven games, helping lead Canada alongside top prospect and projected No.1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, Connor Bedard.
Now, Wright has landed with the Spitfires where he'll most likely slot in as their first-line center. Maggio, the Islanders' fifth-round pick (142nd overall) in the 2022 NHL Draft, plays on Windor's first line this season and is on pace to eclipse his stellar 2021-22 85-point season, having already scored 28 goals and is on pace for 54 tucks and 99 points.
Maggio is ranked fourth in the OHL scoring race with 51 points and second in goals with 28. With Wright now his likely linemate, Maggio's 99-point pace is likely to increase with an all-world talent such as the former first overall by Kingston in the 2019 OHL Priority Selection after he was granted exceptional status.
The Spitfires currently sit first in the OHL West with a record of 23-9-3-1 and are on a quest to capture the OHL Championship and punch their ticket to the Memorial Cup. The addition of Wright is quite the insurance policy for a team that was already being led by Maggio and was a favorite to win it all.
There's no telling what kind of magic Wright and Maggio might be able to create, but one thing is for sure. Both Maggio and the Islanders organization are salivating at the idea of seeing what's to come, and an extended championship run for Maggio can surely do wonders for his prospect development. It's still early, but the Islanders just might have something in the former fifth-round pick, and the addition of Wright as Maggio's linemate for the remainder of this season certainly helps.