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 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Player: 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: First 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

This season: Alex D’Orio is used to playing for bad teams. He was the starting goaltender for a wretched Saint John Sea Dogs squad in 2017-18 that had the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s worst record (14-43-11).

His numbers that season were brutal. As he had a 9-26-9 record along with a 4.01 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. But keep in mind, he also led the league with 1,651 shots against.

(Sixty of those saves came in a 6-4 home loss to Acadie-Bathurst Titan. In the second period alone, he make 30 saves on 31 shots).

So playing for the 24-30-5-0 Wheeling Nailers, who were in last place of the ECHL’s Central Division when that league canceled the remainder of its season, isn’t too daunting by comparison.

His composure under duress is what prompted Penguins management to extend a three-year entry-level contract to the undrafted goaltender.

If the Penguins did not have substantial veteran depth with Casey DeSmith and Dustin Tokarski as well fellow first-year professional Emil Larmi with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, D’Orio might have spent some portion of this season in the American Hockey League. Instead, he was assigned to Wheeling in order to get plenty of games and further his development.

The future: The only right-catching goalie in the Penguins organization, D’Orio is a work in progress. He is arguably the most athletic goaltender in the organization as he relies on his speed and reflexes to make saves. He has made strides in refining the technical aspects of his game but still has quite a bit of work to do in that area.

Side-to-side scrambly saves can be routine for him. But kicking out safe, inert rebounds that don’t lead to a second scoring chance are occasionally a challenge.

With the futures of NHL goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Matt Murray somewhat uncertain due to the 2021 expansion draft as well as Tokarski’s status as a pending unrestricted free agent following this season, D’Orio is a candidate to graduate to regular role at the AHL level for the 2020-21 season.

If he makes it as an NHLer, he can be a sturdy backup.

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