Iorio’s decision pays off with pro deal

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This article was published 04/10/2021 (1443 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On May 4, 2017, Vincent Iorio was widely considered to have the talent to be selected in the Western Hockey League’s first round.

What scouts weren’t sure of was whether he would ever play major junior hockey.

The 14-year-old defenceman, who stood six feet and weighed 167 pounds at the time, was playing for Shattuck-St. Mary’s 14-and-under program, an American prep program with a reputation for developing college hockey players.

Brandon took a forward from Lethbridge, Ridly Greig, with the eighth overall pick, and with a pick they had acquired from the Saskatoon Blades in a blockbuster deal, rolled the dice on Iorio five selections into the second round with the 27th overall pick.

It couldn’t have worked out better for both the team and the product of Coquitlam, B.C., who signed his first professional contract on Monday with the Washington Capitals.

“It’s a lot of excitement,” Iorio said of putting pen to paper. “Obviously it’s only one step in the journey and I need to continue to do the hard work so I’m not overly excited about it. My parents (Mario and Jennifer) are very happy for me, my sister (Olivia) is very happy for me, and my friends and everyone else is happy for me, but for me, it’s just another day in the office.

“I’m going to come back tomorrow and do the same thing I’m doing today and every day forward.”

Now six-foot-three and 200 pounds, the 18-year-old Iorio was selected in the second round of the 2021 NHL draft by Washington.

So how much of a gamble was the Wheat Kings’ pick at the time? (Brandon acquired the pick with a 2016 trade deadline deal that also brought Mitch Wheaton and Schael Higson from the Saskatoon Blades for Braylon Shmyr and Colton Waltz.)

Former general manager Grant Armstrong never flagged from his conviction that the youngster would sign. Iorio didn’t attend prospects or rookie camp at age 14 — he has a late birthday on Nov. 14 — but came to prospects camp in 2018.

“It was a complete 50-50,” Iorio said of his decision. “Obviously I was enticed by a lot of the college programs but I thought Kelly (McCrimmon) and Grant did a very good job of enticing me to come play here. You look at the lineup of guys who have been produced by the Wheat Kings and it’s second to none. For me, I was very happy I made the decision. Developmentally, I’ve come a long way since I was a 15-year-old kid.”

Iorio and Nolan Ritchie signed with the Wheat Kings on May 31, 2018, and general managers from around the league called Armstrong to congratulate him.

Interestingly, Brandon selected another defenceman three picks after Iorio, Anthony Kehrer of Winnipeg. Kehrer, who went undrafted by the NHL, is now playing at the University of Wisconsin.

Head coach Don MacGillivray was thrilled for the gregarious Iorio, who is in his fourth year with the club.

“It’s awesome,” MacGillivray said. “He’s a great kid. I remember when he was deciding whether he was going to come here, that was his goal. If you look back at that group and for him to make that decision or get that opportunity was just fantastic. I think he’s earned it. He works hard all the time, you have to kick him off the ice. He’s a good player in this league and he’ll be a good player going forward.”

After putting up five points in 50 games in his rookie year, Iorio jumped to four goals and 17 assists in 59 games in the 2019-20 season. Last season in the Regina hub, he scored five goals and added seven assists in 22 games with a plus-minus of eight.

While Iorio has played with some very good defenceman during his tenure in the WHL, one name stands above the other. Iorio said Braden Schneider was simply an excellent role model.

“He’s definitely one of those guys who you look up to since day one,” Iorio said. “He’s taught me a lot of things and been a really good leader. He’s probably one of the best Wheat Kings to ever do it.”

He was initially paired with the older Schael Higson as a rookie, but in the endless cycle of junior hockey, Iorio now finds himself mentoring Brandon’s 2020 first-round pick, Quinn Mantei.

Iorio said the biggest change during his time in the WHL has come in his confidence as he’s aged and grown accustomed to the pace. However, that changed when he went to camp with Washington, where he was suddenly the young guy all over again.

“Playing in a pre-season game up with the professional guys, it was kind of like going back in time as a 15-year-old with the 19-year-olds,” Iorio said. “Now I’m an 18-year-old playing with the 35-year-olds. For me, it’s just continuing to build my confidence and trusting my game.”

Washington didn’t hold a development camp this summer due to the late draft — it was held July 23-24 instead of in its regular spot in June — so heading down for main camp was his first experience with the franchise.

He came away impressed.

“Everything, top to bottom, was fantastic in Washington, just like it is here,” Iorio said. “Everyone here (Brandon) is amazing. The guys think the game so fast. It’s not necessarily that they’re that much quicker physically, they think the game very fast and because of that, they know where to be before the puck gets to them.

“They know every single angle on the ice, and because of that, you have to play a lot faster mentally. You have to know where your passes are going before you get the puck.”

Iorio spent time on the ice with Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin, and the pair had a brief conversation about Vancouver, where the teenager is from. At the same time, Iorio was mindful of not bothering the veterans.

“They don’t want to listen to 18-year-old rookies,” Iorio said with a wide smile.

Even with his first professional deal signed, Iorio said his focus remains in the moment rather than looking ahead to the future.

While Brandon’s opening weekend didn’t go exactly as planned with 10-2 and 7-1 losses, Iorio remains upbeat about what lies ahead this season, which will almost certainly be the last of his junior career.

“As bad as the weekend was — we didn’t play very well — it’s really good to get that out of the way,” Iorio said. “Obviously you hate losing but we’ve know experienced what losing feels like and losing to our arch rivals and losing big, blowout hockey games, so for us, it’s nailing down our defensive zone, playing five tight, and generating offence by dumping pucks and playing physical.

“That’s what we have to do.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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