Jake Chiasson said it was an honour to be named to the NHL’s Central Scouting ‘Players to Watch’ list. The Wheat King is back home right now in Abbotsford as he waits for the opening of training camp which is set to begin just after Christmas.
53 kilometres down the road is where you will find another Wheat King. Vincent Iorio is currently training in his hometown of Coquitlam and just like his teammate, Iorio has cracked the list.
The 17-year-old is rated ‘C’ in a list that changes throughout the season. Vincent has played the past two seasons of his junior career with Brandon and the Wheat Kings are the only junior team he has ever played for.
“That’s really important for me to be regarded as a prospect ahead of the NHL Draft,” said Iorio. “With that said, there is always room for improvement. I think I have done a great job on and off the ice this summer getting ready for what is coming up and I can’t wait to get back into the swing of things.”
Iorio spent the 2016-2017 season with the Shattuck St. Mary’s 14U AAA team and he was quite efficient offensively as he added up eight goals and 24 assists. Moving up to the 16U team for the following season, Iorio had 23 points, four of which were goals.
2017 year in review:
The Brandon Wheat Kings came calling when they drafted the young man, 27th overall. In all, we could say 2017 was a huge year for Vincent. Not only did he produce 32 points with Shattuck St. Mary’s and get drafted by Brandon, but he also had the opportunity to represent his province at the Western Hockey League (WHL) Cup. He played on Team B.C., he added three assists in five games and the team went on to win a gold medal.
Two years at Shattuck St. Mary’s would ultimately lead Iorio to the Wheat City as he joined the Wheat Kings for the 2018-2019 season.
Wheat City days:
In season one in the WHL, Iorio scored once and he had four assists as he played in 50 games. Coming into last year with a full year of experience under his belt, he definitely used that to his advantage. He racked up 21 points — four of which were goals — and he also became one of the Wheat Kings’ most reliable defenders. He was also a +14 compared to being a -12 in his rookie season with Brandon.
“I think it’s been all about developing and that’s what I did from the first year into the second year,” offered Iorio. “Everything has been going well. I love every second of playing with Brandon and I think it’s only going to get better from here.”
New season:
Iorio was with his family when the WHL announced that they would begin a new season on January 8. This put an end to months of speculation on when a season would begin and the WHL said this in a release.
“The WHL is very excited to be opening our WHL Regular Season on January 8,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “The WHL is a world-class development league. We remain fully committed to providing our players with the highest level of training, coaching, and competition in the system.”
Known as a family man, it’s true that sometimes the best news possible comes when you’re with your family, as Iorio was when this news came out.
“We all looked at each other and just smiled, it was a great moment,” he said. “To have that start date is really important because I can now narrow down my training and ramp things up.”
Iorio’s personal expectations have grown every season. He expects to pitch in more offensively, improve on his defensive game, and just become an overall better player. Now as we look forward to the new season which continues to get closer every day, Iorio has the same thought process heading into season three in Brandon.
“I have very high expectations for myself and the team as well,” said Iorio. “We have an amazing coaching staff and we’re going to be a very special group. We also have amazing trainers and great office staff. It’s a great organization and we plan on doing big things this year.”
Stay tuned for more Wheat Kings offseason coverage over the next few days as Darnell Duff chats with a select group of elite prospects that will look to make the team this season.
