The Blue Jackets have barely gotten their season rolling, but one of their newer prospects is already making noise where it counts. Alessandro Di Iorio, taken 94th overall in this past draft, is wasting no time showing why he looked like a possible steal.
Di Iorio’s appeal goes well beyond the box score. He’s still wearing the captain’s “C” for the Sarnia Sting after taking on that role last year, and the team has opened the season 4-2-1 through seven games after finishing near the bottom of the OHL a year ago.
On an individual level, Di Iorio has stacked up three goals and five assists in six games, which leaves him tied for second on the Sting in scoring. He’s been especially noticeable with the way he’s moved this offseason, using speed and hockey sense to open up defenses and create chances. One of his best goals came when he tracked down a loose puck in the neutral zone and finished a 2-on-1 rush.
DIO LETS IT RIP👏👏
Alessandro Di Iorio (1) gets his first of the season. Assisted by Landon Pickersgill.
SAR 4 - OTT 2 pic.twitter.com/Yv1GDRoJom
- Sarnia Sting (@StingHockey) September 27, 2026
That kind of start only adds to the buzz around a player who was already drawing attention after the Blue Jackets selected him in the third round. Di Iorio was drafted second overall in the OHL draft in 2024 and entered junior hockey with a strong reputation, but two underwhelming seasons on a team that didn’t improve much around him caused him to slip off a lot of scouts’ lists.
Now that Sarnia is off to a better start, he should have a real chance to break out in junior hockey and possibly get his first taste of playoff hockey at this level. His leadership and offensive upside give him a chance to become one of the more interesting prospects in the Blue Jackets system.
In our summer prospects coverage, he was ranked 18th. If this scoring pace sticks, he could push into the top ten. Six games is a tiny sample, sure, but for an 18-year-old prospect, this is about as encouraging a beginning as you could ask for.
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Blue Jackets Had One Of Their Wildest Wins Ever Against Pittsburgh
The Blue Jackets' early years were full of growing pains, but Jan. 11, 2006, at Nationwide Arena still stands out as one of the wildest nights in franchise history. Columbus and Pittsburgh spent most of the game in the penalty box, with both teams taking 21 penalties apiece, turning a routine divisional matchup into a stop-start slog that tested discipline, depth and patience on both benches.
Even with all that chaos, Columbus found a way to turn the game into a lopsided win by cashing in on its chances and surviving the special-teams scramble. The Jackets scored six goals, got two of them on the power play, and were sharp enough in the key moments to keep Pittsburgh from ever fully taking over the night. [Read more 🡒]