It's easy to pick Michael Iovanna out of crowd of junior hockey players.
Just ask the newest member of the Prince George Spruce Kings to say something.
With every underpronounced 'r' and his born-and-bred habit of making 'ohs' sound like 'ahs,' Iovanna's New England accent is as obvious as his love for the Bahstin Red Sawx.
The 19-year-old right winger grew up in Middleton, Mass., a suburb of Boston, where he lit up the high school hockey league playing four seasons for the Malden Catholic Lancers. In his senior year, he totaled 20 goals and 46 points in 22 games in 2012-13 and captained the team to its third-straight Division 1 state title, resulting in an NCAA scholarship at UMass-Amherst for 2015.
Iovanna landed in the BCHL this summer with the Vernon Vipers. But with the Vipers deep at the forward position, his wish to become a top-six forward in Vernon never materialized and last week he was traded to the Spruce Kings in a deal for future considerations.
"He's a pretty shifty guy and he's got some skill and hopefully just with some extra icetime here he'll put up some good numbers," said Spruce Kings head coach Dave Dupas.
At five-foot-nine, 160 pounds, Iovanna will have to rely on his quick feet and gut instincts to keep him from becoming defenceman's breakfast. The Kings surrounded Iovanna with some larger linemates in Brogan O'Brien and Sean Landrey (until he got hurt) to help protect his turf.
"I'm a smaller player so I have to be quick and kind of crafty, be a little mad out there," he said.
Held pointless in 14 games for the Vipers, Iovanna scored his first BCHL goal in his second game with the Kings last Saturday in Langley.
"That was a huge weight off of my shoulders," said Iovanna. "I was trying to get some points but I kind of I found myself trying too much. Here, I came more relaxed and it's worked out pretty good.
"This team is really tight, all the kids get along and I noticed that right off the bat. They were very welcoming for me, which was a big help."
