The Sarnia Sting standout breaks down his meeting with the Stars as Dallas targets a heavy, two-way center to bolster their pipeline depth in the second round.
Although the Dallas Stars don't pick until 59th overall in the second round of next week's draft, that didn't stop the organization from doing their homework at Saturday's NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo.
Di Iorio is coming off a solid draft year with the Sarnia Sting, finishing with 12 goals and 19 assists for 31 points in 45 games. He then gave his stock another boost at the U18 World Championships, where scouts got an extended look at what he brings to the table. He described his meeting with the Stars as fairly standard among the pack of interviews prospects work through during the Combine weekend.
When it comes to his own game, Di Iorio is clear about the kind of player he is and wants to be. He identifies as a two-way center who leans on his speed and vision to create plays for his teammates, and takes pride in being the kind of player who can be trusted in all situations on the ice.
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He also pointed to his physicality as something teams got a good look at during the U18 World Championships, a stage that gave him the opportunity to show he can compete and battle against the best players in his age group.
The six-foot-one, near-200 pound center is widely projected to go somewhere in the 50 to 70 pick range, a window that overlaps directly with Dallas's current position at 59th overall. Interestingly, if the Stars choose to trade back from that spot and accumulate more draft capital, they may still be able to land Di Iorio while coming away with additional picks to address other areas of need.
Towards the end of the season, the Stars were vocal about their desire to rebuild their prospect pipeline going forward, and trading back to add quantity while still selecting a player like Di Iorio would be a sensible way to kick off that process. If Dallas decides to prioritize depth in this draft, the Vaughan, Ontario native could find himself near the top of that list.
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