Standout sophomore Maglione with professional hockey potential

June 25, 2001 is a date that Matt Maglione, Princeton's standout sophomore defenseman, will not soon forget. On that Sunday afternoon early last summer, the Washington Capitals selected Maglione in the eighth round of the National Hockey League draft, making him not only the 249th overall selection but also one very happy individual.

"Playing professional hockey has been a dream of mine since I was four years old," Maglione said. "But only recently has that dream seemed possible for me."

While playing professional hockey may have seemed a distant notion for him, Maglione has been steadily climbing the hockey ranks, and doing so in impressive fashion.

Before coming to Princeton, the Fayetteville, NY native played four years of junior 'A' hockey. In the first three of those years, Maglione played for the Syracuse Junior Crunch, a team stationed near his hometown. In his final year of high school, Maglione left home and played for the U.S. National under-18 team based out of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

That final year did a lot for Maglione in several ways. For starters, Princeton head coach Len Quesnelle '88 noticed a big difference in his play, which solidified Quesnelle's decision that he wanted Maglione to be part of the program.

"I saw him play over a three-year period," Quesnelle said. "But that year in Ann Arbor really helped him. He elevated his game a lot."

For Maglione, the time in the midwest was about more than just hockey.

"That year was a great experience and great for my development as a player and a person," Maglione said. "I got to travel to Europe three separate times and compete in the world under-18 championship in Switzerland."

Along with playing in the world under-18 championship as a part of the U.S. National team, Maglione played in the Five Nations Tournament in Finland in 2000 as well as the Three Nations Tournament in Sweden in 1999.

Playing at such a high level undoubtedly eased Maglione's transition to Division I college hockey. In his freshman year, the now six-foot, one-inch, 205-pound defender netted four goals and added five assists while playing in all but one of the team's games.

Transition

"Matt handled the transition to college hockey very well," Quesnelle said. "It was nice that guys like [senior captain Dave] Schneider were there to help him, but Matt worked really hard last year."

After last season, Maglione was awarded the Hobey Baker trophy, an award that goes to the team's top first-year player.

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But to excel further in college and make it to the next level — presumably the National Hockey League — Maglione will have to continue to improve on his game and emphasize his strengths as a player.

"Matt's got a good, hard shot," Quesnelle said. "He's a great skating defenseman and a go-to guy. He's really working on becoming a complete player."

With the accolades he has already garnered, and the improvements he has made in the last two years, Maglione seems to be on the right track. However, he is being very careful about putting too much weight on his past, and even present, success.

"My parents always stressed the importance of an education and were careful to warn me of the inconsistent nature of professional sports," Maglione said. "Being drafted doesn't mean anything until you prove yourself, so I'm doing my best not to get overly emotional about the situation."

Following regulations

Currently, Maglione is not under contract with the Capitals, as that would violate NCAA regulations and ban him from college hockey. Simply put, the Capitals own the rights to Maglione while he is in school and can exercise the option to sign him, trade him, or do nothing upon his graduation.

"I have every intention of finishing school and getting a degree," Maglione said. "In the meantime, I will attend a camp in the summer for prospects in Washington."

For having the opportunity of a lifetime, Maglione is staying even and level-headed about the process. He remains reserved and modest, knowing that in the world of hockey anything can happen and nothing is a sure bet.

"I hope that I have the opportunity to pursue a career in the National Hockey League," Maglione said. "But all I can do is work hard. A lot can happen in two or three years and I have no idea where I could end up. Hopefully things will go well and I will end up with a contract when I get out of school."