Capitals Recall Iorio & Carlsson, Assign McIlrath To Hershey

With injuries piling up on the blue line and the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline less than two hours away, the Washington Capitals are bringing defensemen Vincent Iorio and Gabriel Carlsson up from the AHL's Hershey Bears while re-assigning Dylan McIlrath.

The transactions come after Nick Jensen (upper-body) and Martin Fehervary (lower-body) were hurt in the Capitals' 3-2 overtime win over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.

Iorio, 20, is in the middle of his rookie AHL campaign and has two goals and 15 assists through 51 games so far. The 6-3, 205-pound blueliner is a smooth-skating, right-handed defenseman who can throw his weight around, battle hard for the puck and join the rush. He was taken in the second round of the 2021 NHL Draft and has adjusted well to the pros so far If he plays while up with D.C., he will be making his NHL debut.

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Carlsson, 26, is more experienced and has 75 games up at the NHL level, including 38 with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season. The 2015 first-round pick signed a one-year, two-way deal to join the Capitals organization this offseason and has played in 47 games with Hershey, picking up a career-high 13 points.

Carlsson and Iorio have played together down in Hershey on the same pairing and logged time on the top-4.

McIlrath, meanwhile, will head back down after playing in six games for Washington. He had one assist, a fight and a +/- rating of minus-6 during his time up with the big club.