New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield celebrates with Ilya Sorokin (30) after the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, April 8, 2023, in Elmont, N.Y. The Islanders won 4-0. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

The road to the NHL is different for everyone.

For New York Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, it’s a road he didn’t think he’d take at all. But after almost a decade in the league and an ever-increasing role, it’s a road he’s grateful to have been on.

It recently paid off for the blueliner as he just signed an extension, inking a deal with the Islanders on July 1 that will keep him in New York for the next seven seasons at $3.5 million per year.

Mayfield got his start in the Steel Valley as the veteran blueliner was the first-ever player drafted from the Youngstown Phantoms organization after their jump to the United States Hockey League.

The defenseman was selected at No. 34 overall in 2011.

During Mayfield’s first season with the Phantoms a year prior — which was the team’s first season as well — the draft wasn’t on his mind. The only thing on his mind was college hockey.

An NHL future didn’t start to feel like a possibility until his draft year, the 2010-11 season.

Mayfield was a late bloomer, even at the youth level, but everytime he was given a chance, he took it and delivered.

When NHL teams started calling, his fantasy started to become reality.

“I would say the second year or at the end of the first year a little bit, that’s when you know, teams start calling in,” Mayfield said. “When you start getting NHL teams calling you and meeting with you after games and stuff, I think that’s kind of when it sunk in that this can be something. For me, it was always about college hockey, and now it started to kind of just look like there might be even a future after college.”

Unlike a lot of players, Mayfield didn’t come from a hockey background. He just gravitated to the game. At one point during his first time on the ice, as a 4-year old, the future NHLer bent down and licked the ice he skated on. A year later, he started playing hockey.

A decade after starting to play, Mayfield was committed to the University of Denver and on his way to Youngstown.

“It’s hard when you’re 17 and you’re talking about the NHL Draft,” Mayfield said. “There’s kids that grew up in hockey families. They grew up knowing that they were going to be drafted since they were 10-11 years old, but then there’s other kids like me that are late bloomers and never really even thought about it.

“So for me, it was kind of just having fun. I enjoyed the process and learned a lot from it. I was already committed to school when I went to Youngstown, so I knew I was going to Denver the following year. (I just wanted to) play hockey, have fun and do the best I can.”

A lot of that fun came on the bus. With the next closest team to the Phantoms being located nearly four hours away, Mayfield spent plenty of time with his teammates bonding on the long road trips.

“I always remember the bus rides. It was just a lot of fun on the bus,” Mayfield said. “There’s videos of it online, and I don’t know if they still have the same bus, but when I was there, it had a bunch of beds on it. We’re the farthest east team obviously, so there was a lot of travel. I was a junior in high school, so just being able to go with the guys (was special). It was a lot of growing up and learning to balance that school and family, friends all while playing. It was a good time. We didn’t have the best team the two years I was there because we were an expansion team, but it was a special time.”

After being selected by the Islanders, Mayfield’s journey to the NHL wasn’t complete yet. He spent the next two seasons at the college level at Denver. After his sophomore season, Mayfield signed his entry level contract with New York and spent the next handful of seasons bouncing between the Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport.

As Mayfield learned the pro game, he learned about his role on a team. While capable of pushing the puck up the ice, offense has never been the trademark of his game.

The hallmark of Mayfield’s game is as a shutdown defender. Driving into the corners and using his 6-foot-5, 225-pound frame to separate players from the puck.

As he got more experience at the professional level, that mentality of playing his role helped his career bloom.

“The biggest thing for me is playing my game,” Mayfield said. “Something I learned early on is that everyone has a job and you do it to the best of your abilities and the rest will take care of itself. There’s always that being a good teammate, leadership, off the ice role as well that I think I’ve kind of come into a little bit more as I’ve played more in the NHL. But for me it’s just showing up, working hard, and dooing my job is to the best of my abilities. In the end, it’s production on the ice that you need. In the end, it’s about wins and that’s what we’re trying to do.”

Since the 2017-18 season, Mayfield has been a staple in the Islanders lineup and it’s come through playing that role of a shutdown defenseman.

Despite having the chance to explore other options, Mayfield re-signed with the team that drafted him pretty quickly as Long Island has become home for him and his family.

He and the Islanders look to get back in the playoff picture this season. Back in 2020 and 2021, the Islanders reached the conference finals in each season and Mayfield was a large part in that. Now, in what will be Mayfield’s 11th full professional season, the goal is to get back there and go further.

“It was always my goal to stay. We wanted to find a number in term and all that, that worked for both sides,” Mayfield said. “I’m really fortunate that I’ve been given this opportunity and I’m excited. My wife and I love it out there. Long Island is a special place and I think our team is a great group of guys who can play well. They kept that core together, so now we need to perform.”