Screenshot: @Capitals
The Washington Capitals couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to their game against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday, as contributions from new faces saw the team throttle the Sharks 8-3 on enemy ice. Key among those new faces was 20-year old defenseman Vincent Iorio.
The 55th overall pick in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft had himself one memorable NHL debut contest just under two years after being taken by the Caps with their first pick (2nd Round) in 2021, picking up his first career point on a goal by Alex Ovechkin.
HUGE night for defenseman Vincent Iorio making a legendary rookie debut!@alexalandestoy pic.twitter.com/aCx6k9o7OA
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 5, 2023
“I told myself I wasn’t going to have any nerves”, a beaming Iorio said after the game, “And then when I stepped out there, there was a couple. First couple shifts you’re getting used to the tempo, but after that the guys helped me settle down…”
“I don’t think I’ve played with [fellow blueliner Alexander Alexeyev] Al, but I’ve been playing with [Gabriel Carlsson] Gabe a little bit, and we have some good chemistry”, Iorio said of his defensive partners in his debut, “So things are going well,”
When Ovechkin made his NHL debut on October 5, 2005, Iorio was just two-years old. The goal on which he assisted puts the Capitals’ captain just 80 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark of 894.
“Yeah, I never thought I’d dream of that”, a smiling Iorio said, acknowledging the significance of the moment, “It’s pretty cool, he’s one of the greatest to ever play, if not the greatest, so I look up to him a lot, a lot of players look up to him, so I’m happy.”
At just 20-years old, the newly-baptized blueliner appears to have taken in every moment of his debut on the big stage. “I like to keep myself on the present, just stretching and stuff. Realizing I have the Caps gear on, and that I’m part of this team now, it’s pretty special. I’ts a childhood dream of mine for sure. But like I said, I just want to be in the present and focus for tomorrow.”
“I never thought I’d dream of that, but it was pretty cool.”
Vincent Iorio on making his NHL debut and assisting on an Alex Ovechkin goal for his first career point in San Jose.#CapsSharks pic.twitter.com/UoYP3QXiej
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 5, 2023
The Capitals are next in action on Monday against the Los Angeles Kings.
By Michael Fleetwood
All 3 defensemen making their debuts looked good. Still not real impressed by Carlsson, but hope to be proven wrong. Sandin was terrific! Real pleased by that trade, so far.
Carlsson has been the Bears best defenseman all season.
Yeah, so everyone but me says. But he’s a throwback type of defenseman, very little offense. His lack of an offensive game might not translate well to today’s NHL. I know he had 2assists yesterday, but face it, no one will mistake him for Erik Karlsson. I see him as a 7th D at best
Hopefully he gets a couple more games before returning to Hershey.
He got his feet wet, looked like he belongs. But there’s no rush. Let him develop and marinate in Hershey, and we could have a fine defenseman for the next 15 years.