Michael DiPietro | G

[Smashian Kassian]

Wasn't sure what to expect from Dipietro coming in, but he's been sensational. Couldn't have asked for a better start to his pro career. 

 

3 starts for Dipietro so far vs 4 for McIntrye. Hopefully he continues to get this much of a split with the starts. 

[Captain Canuck #12]

5 hours ago, Alflives said:

I remember him being compared to Quick.  I really 200% believe the Canucks are singing Marky and trading Demko for a first at the 2020 draft.  Dipietro is that good.  

Could Dipietro be so great and fabulous that he gets called up this year and does s Ken Dryden and Leafs us to s VUP?  

Or hold onto him until they have to expose/lose either Markstrom or Demko in the expansion draft, then know that they have him to replace whoever they lose.

[Curmudgeon]

1 hour ago, Captain Canuck #12 said:

Or hold onto him until they have to expose/lose either Markstrom or Demko in the expansion draft, then know that they have him to replace whoever they lose.

Absolutely right. Who's to say that maybe Markstrom slumps a bit and Demko comes on and takes the net for awhile. Like a Binnington move. Captain Canuck is wise to advise hanging on to them all until you have to make a decision based on what they HAVE done, not what you hope the WILL do. Lotsa hockey to be played  between now and the Seattle draft.

Edited October 27, 2019 by Curmudgeon

[Clock Tower Prison]

I can already see DiPietro being the #1 goalie in the playoffs. This kid always seems to find an extra gear when the pressure is on and there's a championship on the line. 

[TGT68]

12 hours ago, GoldenAlien said:

 

Pleasantly surprised at how quickly DiPietro adjusted to the pros, considering questions about his size and raw, acrobatic style.  Demko played three years of college hockey against older competition and was 3.71 GAA, 0.869 SV% in his first three games.  Granted DP is playing in front of a better team, but Demko was the consensus #1 goalie from his draft and due to his late birthday, 6 months older than DP when he started in the AHL.  DP's 1.62 GAA and 0.940 SV% puts him 6th and 8th in the AHL, respectively.

Just do not forget that Demko is at 1.64 gaa and .943 save % after three NHL games this year.  Awfully similar numbers one league up.  

 

The future does look bright, especially in goal.  

[70seven]

14 hours ago, Alflives said:

I remember him being compared to Quick.  I really 200% believe the Canucks are singing Marky and trading Demko for a first at the 2020 draft.  Dipietro is that good.  

Could Dipietro be so great and fabulous that he gets called up this year and does s Ken Dryden and Leafs us to s VUP?  

Honestly, pretty sure itll be markstrom moving if demko shows consistency this season.... Cap era.  Younger + cheaper = better.   Plus Marky is starting to get better league recognition...  his trade value should be decent as well. 

[RowdyCanuck]

On October 27, 2019 at 2:55 AM, Curmudgeon said:

Absolutely right. Who's to say that maybe Markstrom slumps a bit and Demko comes on and takes the net for awhile. Like a Binnington move. Captain Canuck is wise to advise hanging on to them all until you have to make a decision based on what they HAVE done, not what you hope the WILL do. Lotsa hockey to be played  between now and the Seattle draft.

Hmmm I guess rfa's didn't get the message.....or really the way things are looking a lot of players didn't get the message ha

[elvis15]

A good blurb on DiPietro from the RJ interviews floating around:

https://theprovince.com/sports/hockey/nhl/vancouver-canucks/patrick-johnston-canucks-see-veteran-laden-comets-as-a-good-thing-for-the-kids

Quote

Before the Utica Comets faced the reality of squeezing a pair of wingers into the lineup with solid NHL experience, the AHL squad was already facing a tricky question: How to fit three goalies into a rotation that would keep everyone happy?

 

The Comets have a pair of veteran netminders in Zane McIntyre and Richard Bachman, plus a face of the future in Mike DiPietro.

 

The Comets are now five games into their AHL schedule and have managed to hand McIntyre a trio of starts and DiPietro two. Bachman has dressed as a backup but has yet to actually appear in a game, but so far so good, Comets general manager Ryan Johnson said over the phone.

 

“Everybody understands the situation,” he said. “With our schedule being light we wanted to get Zane up and going. And the plan was to get Mikey his first start, he made some saves when had to, didn’t face a ton of shots, was very composed.”

 

DiPietro’s transition to his first full season of pro hockey has been far smoother than his actual pro debut last year, when he made an emergency recall start against the San Jose Sharks. The Canucks lost 7-0 on that night — the young goalie saying it was as big a learning opportunity as he could have imagined.

 

“This is very minimal compared to last year,” Johnson said, with a tone that implied a grin and the acknowledgment of just how unconventional DiPietro’s first NHL game was. “He’s got a maturity to him. Mikey wants to learn, he’s a sponge to everything thrown at him and has been since we drafted him. He’s got such a positive outlook on anything and everything.”

 

And he doesn’t lack for support around him.

 

“Between Zane, Richard, (goalie coach) Curtis Sanford, he’s got a lot of good people around him,” he noted.

 

[dpn1]

Mikey getting the start tonight.  He is entertaining to watch.  He works so hard when in the crease. Go Comets.

[GoldenAlien]

DiPietro made 23/25 stops in last night's loss.  Now 1.73 GAA and 0.935 SV% in four starts.

[dpn1]

Mikey has been amazing so far in Utica.  He could be NHL ready in a year or 2.  I think he is our #1 goalie prospect.  Right now I would say he is very close to taking over the #1 job in Utica at 20 years old.  Marky and Thatcher better not take their foots off the petal or they could find themselves on the outside looking in.   I know it is too soon to put Mickie in the Canucks lineup but he has been impressive and his compete level is off the charts.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, dpn1 said:

Mikey has been amazing so far in Utica.  He could be NHL ready in a year or 2.  I think he is our #1 goalie prospect.  Right now I would say he is very close to taking over the #1 job in Utica at 20 years old.  Marky and Thatcher better not take their foots off the petal or they could find themselves on the outside looking in.   I know it is too soon to put Mickie in the Canucks lineup but he has been impressive and his compete level is off the charts.

Ufff, he's got two years minimum in the AHL....  I want all his time in the NHL (Sharks game and preseason) to be a distant distant memory.  He has to come into the NHL with a polished game as he's too small of a netminder to battle through it.  

Anyways yeah I've been surprised by how well he's played in Utica this year! 

[-Vintage Canuck-]

 

[GoldenAlien]

 

This actually happened during his draft year:

Quote

Michael DiPietro and his Spitfires teammates played spoiler on the teams most recent northern road trip, with games in Barrie, North Bay and Sudbury.

 

All three games were teddy bear toss nights, and DiPietro posted three straight shutouts, throwing a wrench in the home team’s teddy bear plans.

 

Everyone is well aware of how these games work… home team scores, home fans throw teddy bears, local kids are happy at Christmas. Well those plans changed slightly for fans of the Colts, Battalion and Wolves this past weekend.

 

Not to worry, fans still got to toss their teddies, but they had to wait until a stoppage of play during the third period for their chance.

[dpn1]

Mickie is in goal again today.  Is he taking over the #1 duties in Utica?  If so, that's impressive.

[RetroCanuck]

3 hours ago, dpn1 said:

Mickie is in goal again today.  Is he taking over the #1 duties in Utica?  If so, that's impressive.

The grinch is taking over christmas

[dpn1]

Markstrom is taking time off to attend his fathers Memorial Service.  Thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family.  The Canucks have called up Micheal DiPietro to fill in until Markie gets back.  It would be great if Mikie got into a game before he has to go back to Utica.  I have a feeling that he would do a whole lot better than he did last year.  He has been very good in Utica so far this season.

[GoldenAlien]

A profile from this past weekend: 

Quote

TORONTO — Sixty-four seconds into the game, Logan Couture finds Timo Meier between the hash marks, who one-times the first shot of game and first faced by Michael DiPietro in the NHL into the back of the net.

 

1-0.

 

Two minutes and 18 seconds later, Evander Kane lofts a shoulder-high backhand toward the cage that Ben Hutton tries to glove and accidentally tips past DiPietro.

 

2-0.

 

Then at 8:48, Melker Karlsson redirects a point shot from Brent Burns near the crease through DiPietro.

 

3-0.

 

That was just the first ten minutes of the first period.

 

The Vancouver Canucks would go on to lose the Feb. 11 game to the San Jose Sharks by a score of 7-2, with the 19-year-old from Windsor, Ont., being charged with all seven goals.

 

It was not the NHL debut DiPietro had imagined, but it may have been for the best.

 

The 2017 third-round pick (64th overall) was initially summoned on an emergency call-up from the OHL after backup Thatcher Demko sprained his knee, but was forced into action after starter Jacob Markstrom had to sit out with a lower-body injury and the team’s other depth options fell through.

 

DiPietro said the experience gave him a harsh dose of reality, which has motivated him to get off to a stunning start to his first pro season with the AHL’s Utica Comets.

 

“That’s a tough game. When you’re dreaming about playing in the NHL as a little kid, especially as a goaltender, you’re dreaming about that 50-save shutout your first game and stuff like that, and obviously that didn’t happen,” he said Saturday after beating the Toronto Marlies 4-3.

 

“But that was probably the best thing for me, looking back on it, because it really opened up my eyes to what the pro game’s about, and I owe not just the players, but the coaching staff with how understanding they were and making sure that I continue to grow my game. So it’s been a long eight months, but I think it’s been pretty good.”

 

“Pretty good” might be an understatement.

 

The now 20-year-old boasts a 7-3-1 record with a sterling 2.22 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage in the AHL, both tops among rookie netminders and good for sixth and eighth overall in their respective categories.

 

But when it came to his NHL debut last season, DiPietro said he felt a wave of anxiety before the game despite being in the midst of another solid season in junior.

 

“It was after the morning skate and I was just stretching in the gym, and right before I hopped in the shower the goalie coach came in he was like, ‘Yeah, you’re playing tonight,’ I’m like ‘Oh,'” recalled DiPietro, a Memorial Cup winner in 2017 and the 2017-18 OHL goalie of the year.

 

“Like the heart sinks and then you start worrying and everything, and safe to say I didn’t really sleep much that afternoon that’s for sure.”

 

DiPietro said he used the nightmare debut to push himself to get better over the summer and to work toward making it back to the NHL.

 

In particular, he said it made him realize how much he needed to improve his cardio and that as a goaltender he can’t just track the puck in the defensive zone, but he needs to be watchful over every play.

 

Canucks forward Antoine Roussel witnessed DiPietro’s mauling at the hands of the Sharks firsthand, and said it may have been “the best thing that happened to him.” He’s been struck by the youngster’s new approach to the game.

 

“The way he carries himself: he’s first at the rink, first on the ice and he’s almost the last guy to leave every time. He’s just for 20 years old, so professional and that attitude will carry him a long way, so I’m very impressed. I can’t wait for him to develop and get more games, you need to play and that’s what he’s doing, and since I’ve been here, he’s freaking 2-0,” said Roussel, who was with the Comets on a conditioning stint.

 

“…But the way he works, the sky is limit.”

 

As DiPietro shines in the AHL, Demko, 23, and Markstrom, 29, have tended the twine with success for an upstart Canucks (13-10-4) club packed with potential, giving the team enviable depth at the position.

 

And DiPietro remains content plying his trade with the Comets.

 

“I’m 20 years old and I just want to continue to get better as a goaltender, get experience, get games and play,” he said.

 

“My goal is playing in the NHL, whenever that day comes will be a great day, but I’m not looking too far ahead.”

 

Markstrom’s three-year, $11-million deal with the Canucks is set to expire in the off-season and there could be some games up for grabs in Vancouver next year.

 

While DiPietro knows he’d better prepared for his next NHL start, he’s in no rush to make it happen again, yet.

 

“My comfort level and knowing what to expect will be a whole lot different (than) what happened my first game. I guess I’m immersed in the pro game now, so I kind of know roughly what to expect — but I think I’m ready whenever called upon,” he said.

 

“But that being said, I want to focus on my time here, focus on honing my skills and making sure I’m doing the right things each and every day to make me a successful pro for a very long time.”

 

[Nancouver]

8 minutes ago, GoldenAlien said:

A profile from this past weekend: 

 

This kid is an absolute beauty! Love his attitude and work ethic 

[VegasCanuck]

17 hours ago, Nancouver said:

This kid is an absolute beauty! Love his attitude and work ethic 

Nice to see that the Canucks are rewarding him with a call up. Gives him an opportunity to work one on one with Clark as well for a few days.