The Capitals Challenged Vincent Iorio This Summer — And He Delivered

Vincent Iorio opens up about a big summer of change and his hopes to finally make it with the Capitals.

ARLINGTON, V.A. — Vincent Iorio’s a certified rink rat.

Even newcomer Justin Sourdif, who grew up playing with the Washington Capitals defenseman in Burnaby, expected big things for his longtime friend.

“I always knew he was going to go pro, that he was going to make it,” Sourdif said.

So, it’s no surprise that with more time to spare this offseason, Iorio found himself mainly at the rink, putting in work.

His main focus was delivering on the feedback that the Capitals gave him: they wanted to see a bigger and stronger Iorio by the time training camp rolled around — and he delivered.

Finally fully healthy and able to build on a full offseason after back-to-back Calder Cups, Iorio made the most of it. He put on 17 pounds while still being able to maintain his speed on the ice, and now comes in at 6-foot-4, 217 pounds.

“It’s exactly what I wanted to do… it’s just a credit to everyone in the organization giving me the game plan and just having me execute it.”

For Iorio, taking the Caps’ feedback in stride was vital going into a pivotal season, where he’s not only playing in the final year of his contract, but is also waivers-eligible for the first time, meaning if he’s cut, he could be picked up by another organization and left to start over elsewhere, an outcome he wants to avoid.