After Capitals cameo, prospect Vincent Iorio adapting well in Hershey

After Caps cameo, prospect Iorio adapting well in Hershey originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington

HERSHEY, Pa. — The Capitals’ AHL affiliate Hershey Bears entered the Calder Cup Playoffs with three rookies on their roster. Forwards Hendrix Lapierre, a 2020 first-round pick, and Ethen Frank, the AHL Rookie of the Year, have created lots of buzz with their play this season. The third rookie, while not making as many headlines, has impressed plenty in his own right.

Defenseman Vincent Iorio, 20, made his professional hockey debut with the Bears in 2022-23, just over a year after the Capitals selected him in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft. The British Columbia native was a productive blue-liner in the WHL during his high school-age seasons, posting a plus-24 rating with 21 goals and 61 assists in 109 games across four years.

After participating in the Capitals’ development camp each of the last two years, he finally made the jump to the pros in 2022-23 and carved out several key roles on the Hershey roster. He tallied 22 points (two goals, 20 assists) in 63 games during the regular season, ranking fifth among all AHL rookie defensemen with a plus-17 rating.

“It’s been good,” Iorio said after an early May practice of his first season. “Rookie years always have ups and downs and I think I’ve had plenty of ups and downs but having the veteran leadership and the veteran group that we have here, they’ve really helped weather that. Just for all the young guys, they’ve taken us in and they’ve treated us so well. They’ve really helped us learn the ropes.”

While Frank was among the Bears’ leading goal scorers and Lapierre started to show some of the high-upside talent that made him a top pick down the stretch, Iorio became the lone Hershey rookie to play for the Capitals this season when they called him up in early March to help fill a growing number of holes on their blue line incurred by injury.

Iorio got his first taste of NHL action March 4 against the San Jose Sharks in the same game where fellow defensemen Rasmus Sandin and Gabriel Carlsson made their Capitals debuts. All three players logged at least one point in the 8-3 Washington victory including Iorio, who served up Alex Ovechkin with a primary assist for goal No. 815 of the Great 8’s career.

“He’s obviously a great skater and really poised with the puck,” Carlsson said. “It’s his first pro year, I think he’s improved a lot. I started off the year [paired] with him and you could see some tendencies from junior still there and throughout the year he’s improved a lot. It’s been fun to see him get up there [in the NHL] and do well so just continuing he can improve his game and he’s going to be a great defenseman for the Caps.”

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, Iorio has always used his size to his advantage on the ice. Between his rookie AHL season and his time with the Capitals, he’s realized he still has plenty of work to do in the weight room to fill out his large frame. He sought advice from Capitals teammate Alex Alexeyev, who just shook off his own prospect status in earning a new one-way contract with the team this offseason.

“Just to continue my game, continue to get stronger,” Iorio said of what he plans to work on this offseason. “I’m still a young kid. I’m a big boy on the ice but there’s been that [adjustment to] pushing your weight around. So, I need, honestly, to just work on all facets of my game, keep my mental strong as well, but physically get a lot bigger, continue to develop and get faster.”

While Iorio pointed to his shot as the biggest area he felt needed to improve, he also expressed how he recognized he’s still very early in his development. The young defenseman works out with the team of renowned hockey development coach Jon Calvano in British Columbia during the offseason and he plans to try and improve just about every facet of his game.

“I think he’s one of our most improved players all season,” Bears defenseman and captain Dylan McIlrath said. “He came in with a lot of confidence and had to get his feet wet first and now he’s just hitting his stride. We rely on Vinny a lot. He obviously plays in all situations and he’s one of the guys that doesn’t feel like a rookie either. He’s a bigger body, can play a lot of minutes against top guys so really happy with his game and he keeps proving [to] everyone every night.”