Penguins A to Z: Once again, Alex D'Orio faces an uphill battle

While the NHL is on hold because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Alex D’Orio

Position: Goaltender

Catches: Right

Age: 21

Height: 6-foot-2

Weight: 209 pounds

2019-20 ECHL statistics: 31 games, 12-15-2-0 record, 3.43 goals-against average, .892 save percentage, zero shutouts

Contract: Second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $733,333. Pending restricted free agent in 2022

Acquired: Undrafted free agent signing, Sept. 13, 2017

Last season: The Wheeling Nailers missed the playoffs in 2019-20.

Then again, so did the rest of the ECHL. After all, a pandemic brought the season to a halt in mid-March.

But even if it weren’t for pestilence, the Nailers were bound to miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season. By the time the ECHL went into stasis, the Nailers were entrenched in last place of the Central Division with a 24-30-5 record.

The man in net for most of that futility was Alex D’Orio, despite missing roughly a month because of injury throughout December and January. With the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins well-stocked in net between veterans Casey DeSmith, Dustin Tokarski and newcomer Emil Larmi, D’Orio was assigned to Wheeling to get playing time.

He also got a lot of rubber to stop as he faced an ample average of 33.1 shots per game.

Playing with a bad team is nothing new for D’Orio. He was saddled with a wretched Saint Johns Sea Dogs squad which was the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s worst unit in 2017-18. That season, D’Orio led the league with the most shots faced (1,651).

When the NHL allowed teams to stage training camps in July for its postseason tournament, D’Orio was one of five goaltenders the Penguins invited to camp, but he was not included in their playoff roster.

The future: There might not be a player with a more uncertain future with the Penguins than D’Orio.

To be clear, management seems satisfied with him and the progress he made in his first professional season. He showed he could handle the rigors of playing under steady bombardment from superior opponents. A quick and athletic goaltender, D’Orio has the base elements to be an NHL goaltender provided he picks up the finer technical requirements of the job.

That said, the potential of NHL teams using expanded rosters this season as well as how the AHL will operate around that — assuming that league starts Feb. 5 as planned — makes D’Orio’s status with the organization a question mark in the short term.

There appears to be an opening in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. With NHL starter Matt Murray jettisoned via trade and Tokarski signing with the Buffalo Sabres, D’Orio would presumably be in line to compete for the starting job in Northeast Pennsylvania with Larmi and veteran Maxime Lagace, an offseason signing.

While the ECHL has already opened its 2020-21 season, albeit with many teams opting not to play because of the pandemic, few NHL franchises have sent any prospects to their affiliates in that league. To date, the Penguins have not assigned any of their players under NHL contract to Wheeling this season.

Long term, things are a bit murkier for D’Orio. With the drafting of Joel Blomqvist and Calle Clang, the pipeline in between the pipes fills up even more.

D’Orio, the only “silly sider” (right-catching goaltender) in the organization, will be facing an uphill battle in 2020-21 and beyond. But that’s nothing new for him. D’Orio has shown, time and again, he’s willing to fight through factors beyond his control.

Follow the Penguins all season long.