The Sharks have claimed now former Washington Capitals defender Vincent Iorio off waivers earlier today. To make space on the 23-man roster, Timothy Liljegren has been placed on injured reserve in a corresponding move. Liljegren had been listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury he suffered late in Tuesday's game against the Hurricanes.
Iorio was drafted in the 2nd round back in 2021 by the Washington Capitals out of the WHL. He has since become a solid contributor at the AHL level, scoring 56 points in 190 games with a plus-39 rating. He has also played in 3 NHL games, registering an assist. Iorio is known for his ability to move the puck, something the Sharks have lacked at the NHL level, and it gives him a clear role on their blueline going forward. At just 22 years old, he is a solid pickup to add depth to the backend. He is also a right-handed shot, adding some balance to a lefty-heavy backend.
Claiming Iorio is not the best sign for Sam Dickinson’s prospects of sticking around past the 9 games. The Sharks are now at the contract limit with the claiming of Iorio. Unless they move off another player or place Iorio back on waivers when Liljegren returns, sending Dickinson back to the OHL is the easiest solution. While Dickinson is a promising prospect, he has struggled so far in his brief stint at the NHL level. Defensemen usually take longer to develop, and rushing a 19-year-old Dickinson to the NHL likely isn’t in the Sharks' best interest. While in an ideal world Dickinson could be assigned to the AHL, the current NHL-CHL agreement does not allow that possibility, meaning Dickinson would need to report to London if he is not with the Sharks. Dickinson will likely be given more opportunities in the coming weeks, but he needs to show more if he wants to stay with the Sharks for the whole season.
It will be interesting to see how the Sharks' defense depth plays out in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, Iorio seems like an interesting flyer for the Sharks to take, and could be solid depth for a struggling Sharks d-core.