Matthew Maggio heading to Russia

Former Windsor Spitfires forward Matthew Maggio has signed with the KHL's Salavat Yulaev.

The 23-year old was selected in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the New York Islanders and played three-plus seasons with the Bridgeport Islanders of the American Hockey League.

Matthew with his father Rob Maggio, trainer for the Windsor Spitfires

The Tecumseh native was an expiring contract and was not tendered a qualifying offer. In 187 games in Bridgeport, Maggio tallied 35 goals and 81 points, serving as a leader on the club.

"I'm excited to get three years with the New York organization. Obviously it didn't go the way I wanted it to. I would have liked to try my hand and get some games and stuff but I learned a lot, and I got treated great by a lot of people there and made a lot of good connections," Maggio told Powerplay Sports Windsor.

Now he's turning the page and hopes to travel to Russia this weel.

"I think it's definitely time to kind of explore something else," Maggio said. "I just think Russia, the level of hockey, it's hard to beat. It's the second best league, a lot of people say, in the world and I just want to go there and have a year to put myself back in the good graces, and hopefully come back and fulfill those NHL dreams."

• 

• 

Maggio said he's going in with limited knowledge of what to expect on the ice, having tried to study up on the KHL's style of play since signing.

"I've been trying to watch as many games as I can since signing there," Maggio said. "It's an unbelievable league so it's not going to be easy. I've talked to a lot of guys that played there, and there's countless good players over there. Bigger ice can take some getting used to, but I'm confident in my skill set and I'm just excited to get over there and start playing again."