Vilio Goes Pro

It was mentioned on The Hockey Show yesterday during the Canada West men's hockey preview show, but Trinity Western saw a big piece of their defensive success move to the professional ranks this season as Elijah Vilio will suit up in the ECHL with the Atlanta Gladiators this season! Vilio was a solid, puck-moving defenceman who had a good shot as well, and he'll leave a hole in the Spartans lineup with his departure. There's nothing wrong with that hole on the roster, though, as it's always good to see players from Canada West hockey getting a shot at their professional hockey dreams! Let's take a quick peek into the career of one of the guys we thought we'd be seeing and hearing a lot about this season in Canada West.

Vilio had room left in his eligibility to remain at the Langley campus, but his first opportunity to follow the professional route came when he signed a deal earlier this year when he signed a tryout deal to join Barys Nur-Sultan (formerly Barys Astana) in the KHL on July 5, 2021. Clearly, the KHL team saw some potential in Vilio after he led the BCIHL in scoring by a defenceman while helping the Spartans to a second-straight BCIHL championship, so they offered him a shot at coming over to Kazakhstan to play in the KHL.

The tryout was scheduled to last until the end of August, according to reports, but Vilio saw no action in any games for Barys. As a result, Vilio left the KHL and returned home where he pursued other opportunities at the professional level. One of the team interested, it appears, was the Atlanta Gladiators as they officially signed the 24-year old defender to a 2021-22 ECHL contract!

"We really like what Vilio can bring to our back end," Gladiators president Jerry James told the Gwinnett Daily Post. "He was very productive in college, and he was about to go play high-level professional hockey over in Kazakhstan."

As mentioned above, he was a solid scoring threat from the blueline as Vilio posted 20 goals and 36 assists in 66 BCIHL games while winning two championships in 2018 and 2019 as well as leading all defencemen in scoring in 2018-19 while being named a second team all-star that season. It's pretty clear that he had settled into the BCIHL nicely when it came to finding the scoresheet, and the Gladiators noticed his size and skill when they were looking to add to their blueline.

"He's a great upcoming young defenseman," Gladiators head coach Jeff Pyle said to the Gwinnett Daily Post. "He's big, strong, he skates well, and he's good in both directions. Its going to be fun watching his career. Enormous potential and a great kid. That's a good combination."

He'll join former Manitoba Bisons forward Kamerin Nault in Atlanta as players with Canada West ties to the university league after Nault signed there in early August, and this blog will keep an eye on both men this season as they try to help Atlanta win the Kelly Cup.

What makes this story fun, though, is that Atlanta might want to keep the pipeline to Trinity Western open if they're looking for other prospects they can sign as Vilio would have some intimate knowledge on a couple of kids on the Spartans roster already. Defender Trent Vilio and forward Kade Vilio also play for the Spartans, and it would be pretty cool to see all three Vilio brothers on the same professional team if they wanted to pursue that dream.

For now, that's seasons away, but Elijah Vilio will get his shot this season to impress at the ECHL level and there's no reason to think he won't. As Jeff Pyle said, he has size, he has skill, he can play both ends of the ice, and he's just a good dude. Guys like Vilio usually have long careers if they have that mix of abilities and personality.

In saying that, I suspect this won't be the last time we hear the name "Elijah Vilio" for all the right reasons. Congratulations, Elijah, on the contract, and here's hoping that the Kelly Cup isn't far off in the future for you and the Gladiators!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!