NY Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio scores 50th goal of OHL season

New York Islanders prospect Matthew Maggio reached a milestone in his magical 2022-23 season on Wednesday night, scoring his 50th goal of the season for the Windsor Spitfires in a 6-5 win over Saginaw Spirit. In doing so, Maggio became the eighth player in franchise player and the first since Steve Ott during the 2000-2001 season to reach the 50-goal mark.

The 2022 fifth-round draft pick had six games to hit the mark but wasn't going to let the potential moment get too big for him. “I know what's at stake here but I think I'm really just trying to block that out and not really focus on that,” Maggio said before the game.

Like William Dufour, another fifth-round draft pick, Maggio has shot up re-drafts as he enjoyed a breakout campaign reaching 100 points this season and is now over 200 points for his OHL career. As a second-year draft-eligible player, Maggio was a top scorer for Windsor last season, scoring 38 goals and 47 assists in 66 games. Through 61 games this year, he now has a league lead of 50 goals and 54 assists in 61 games.

“It’s exciting but at the same time, it’s something that I’ve worked for for a long time coming,” Maggio told WFAN.com last month. “It’s very nice to have that success after the road that I’ve been on. At the end of the day, the personal success is great, but I’m the captain here, and I think we have one of the strongest teams in our league.”

It's been one accolade after another this year for Maggio. Two weeks ago, he earned one of the Ontario Hockey League's Performer of the Month honors for the month of February 2023.