DIPIETRO WILL GET HIS CHANCE ON BIG STAGE
Cut last year, Canucks prospect is part of Canada’s net worth for this year’s world junior championship
Mike DiPietro said he’s not superstitious.
Doesn’t talk to his posts. Doesn’t have a pair of lucky socks or underwear. Doesn’t bow to the hockey gods like Carter Hart famously did at last year’s world junior championship.
In other words, you won’t see DiPietro causing a mini standoff with an opposing goalie because of a need to be the last player to physically step off the ice at the end of a period.
“Superstitions can play mind games on yourself,” said DiPietro. “I don’t know if spraying the water three times in the air before you take a sip is going to really help you stop the puck.”
That being said, DiPietro, who draws smiley faces on his goalie pads, does have his game-day routines. One of them is looking at his cellphone, which contains a four-word message of motivation: “Got cut from juniors.”
It’s a reminder of what happened last year and how that experience helped in making him into the goalie he is today.
“That was the first team I’ve ever been cut from,” said DiPietro. “It was a tough pill to swallow. But when you face adversity, it either makes or breaks you and brings out what you’re truly made of. For myself, I kind of used it as a positive, something that I can work toward. It fuelled me throughout the year. Now I’m here to do the job.”
The job that the Vancouver Canucks prospect is here to do is quite simple: lead a Canadian team that doesn’t have a Connor McDavid — or even a Jack Hughes — to a second straight gold medal. It’s a daunting task, especially since this year’s tournament is not only being held on home soil, but in front of the Canucks prospect’s future fans in Vancouver. But if anyone can pull it off, it’s a goalie whom one scout joked is so poised that he could be prime minister.
“DiPietro is just so focused,” said Team Canada goalie coach Fred Brathwaite. “He’s a guy who comes up with the big save at the right time. Even at a young age, he’s been in some high-pressure games like the Memorial Cup and done well. I know he was disappointed last year, so he’s in a position where he really wants to be in the starter and help Canada be successful.”
Which raises the question: how in the world was DiPietro cut from last year’s team?
Consider that DiPietro won a Memorial Cup in 2017 with the Windsor Spitfires and last season was named the Ontario Hockey League’s goalie of the year. Also consider that five months after being cut from Canada’s under-20 team, DiPietro was the only junior-aged player invited to a team of mostly NHLers at the senior men’s world championship. Though he didn’t get into a game, he will tap into that experience at this year’s world juniors.
“I’m a big believer of pressure is what you make of it and if you let it consume you, then obviously you’re going to be clenching your stick and not feeling comfortable in net and you won’t perform,” said DiPietro. “But if you embrace it, you can have more success. The end of the day, your job doesn’t change as a goaltender.”
Goaltending is this team’s supposed strength. But it could also be the biggest question mark. While DiPietro has the checks-all-boxes type of resume that should initially give him the net, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Ian Scott arguably has the hottest hand. Between the two of them, they should make up for a Canadian team that has just one top-five pick and no one on the roster who is expected to go in the top 10 of next year’s draft.
“Canada’s got the best goaltending in the tournament,” said North American Central Scouting’s Mark Seidel. “There’s a big gap between them and the rest of the teams.”
Every year, it’s the same. Winning or losing a gold medal ultimately comes down to whether or not the teenager between the pipes withstands the pressure of performing on the biggest stage of their young lives. Hart was masterful for Canada a year ago, winning gold with a 1.81 goalsagainst average and .930 save percentage. Now it’s up to DiPietro and Scott to do the same.
“With the guys we have right now, we’d be pretty comfortable if either one of them is in the net,” said Brathwaite. “Obviously, it would be ideal to have two hot guys and go with that one person to carry the load. We’re looking for someone to steal the show.”
In other words, don’t be surprised if Canada relies on more than just DiPietro to get the job done. If so, it won’t necessarily be a goalie controversy.
This isn’t like last year, when Hart was the unquestioned No. 1 goalie from start to finish. DiPietro, who was acquired earlier this month by the Ottawa 67s for what they hope is a Memorial Cup run, might have the most experience. But Scott’s numbers with the Prince Albert Raiders this season are unparalleled.
There’s no wrong choice. Either one can be a difference maker.
“I have some confidence coming into this tournament,” said Scott. “It’s just about taking it game by game and remembering that I’m here for a reason.”
Scott has just two regulation losses in 23 games this season, having posted a 1.61 goals-against average and an unreal .943 save percentage. As Raiders general manager Curtis Hunt observed, “the game has slowed down for him.
“He belongs there,” said Hunt in reference to Team Canada. “I don’t think he needs to take a back seat. I don’t think he has to look at any kind of history. Nothing matters except today. He earned this by his play. He earned this by his work. That was the message to him. The rest is up to you.”
For DiPietro, the message is on his phone. He was cut from the team last year. This time, he’s looking to show the world that he belongs.
“He’s the best at his position in this league,” said 67’s general manager James Boyd. “I think he’s kind of been there and done that in big games. The way he approaches the big game will be a huge leadership boost for Team Canada. I heard a radio interview and they were talking about McDavid and the type of player he is when it comes to a big game. They don’t have to necessarily rise to the occasion because that’s how they treat every game.
“That’s what I see with Mikey. He treats every game as a championship game.”
I’m a big believer of pressure is what you make of it and if you let it consume you, then obviously you’re going to be clenching your stick.