DiPietro getting crack at world junior roster spot
Two area players among 34 invited to try out for Canadian team at world juniors
Windsor Spitfires goalie Mike DiPietro is not about to dwell on the past disappointment and is simply focused on the opportunity now in front of him.
The 19-year-old DiPietro was among 34 players named to Canada’s world junior hockey tryout camp, which opens on Dec. 11 in Victoria.
A year ago, DiPietro felt the sting of disappointment when he was one of the final cuts from a roster that went on to capture the gold medal at the tournament in Buffalo.
“I took it as a learning experience,” DiPietro said of last year’s camp. “I try not to dwell on that, but I think it made me a better goalie to have that adversity. “It’s the first time I’ve been cut and I don’t want it to ever happen again,’’ he said.
“When you get cut, you’re waiting 365 days for another opportunity. I’m ready for the job and the task at hand. It’s time to take charge, but I’m going to take it one puck at a time.”
Now, DiPietro, who is from Amherstburg and leads the Ontario Hockey League with a 2.32 goalsagainst average, will get a second chance at that roster spot and he’ll have a familiar face at camp. Tecumseh’s Jack Studnicka, who is captain of the Oshawa Generals, was also given a camp invite on Monday.
“It’s definitely a huge honour to be able to go to camp,” said the 19-year-old Studnicka, who is a Boston Bruins prospect. “Your eyes are glued to the TV set every year at Christmas watching them. I get an opportunity to be part of it and it’s an honour.” DiPietro and Studnicka will try to become the first two Essex County hockey products to make the Canadian roster together since 2014 when Belle River’s Aaron Ekblad, who was playing with the Barrie Colts, and Tecumseh’s Kerby Rychel, who had been traded to the Guelph Storm by the Spitfires, made the team.
“It’s cool,” said Studnicka, who was a teammate for three seasons with DiPietro on the Sun County Panthers. “Our families are close, we’re close, so there’s a comfortability there.
“It’s cool to always have him there. He’s a childhood buddy of mine. We’re always in the same friend group, so it’s definitely cool to experience it together.” Both players have experience with Hockey Canada. Studnicka played for Canada at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and for Canada’s Under-18 team. “I’ve always had a good relationship with Hockey Canada,” said Studnicka, who has 11 goals and 32 points in 27 games this season. “I know what they’re about and what they expect and want from me as a player and I’m just going to try and bring that to the selection camp.”
DiPietro played with Studnicka at the World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and was also a member of Canada’s World Under-18 team. He was the first Canadian junior hockey goalie named to Canada’s national senior team for last year’s world championship. “Whenever you go with Hockey Canada, it’s an honour,” said DiPietro, who is one of three goalies headed to camp. “It’s a job and a lot of work, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“Now that it’s official, it makes for less stress on my shoulders, but I’m not taking anything for granted. I wanted to play better hockey than I did at the start of season but I feel my game’s improving. “I don’t look at it (last year’s snub) as redemption. It’s another opportunity.”
Former Spitfires teammate Gabriel Vilardi was also among the 19 forwards named to the camp. Vilardi, who the Spitfires traded to Kingston last season, has been with the Los Angeles Kings all season, but has not played an NHL game because he’s been rehabbing a back injury. Recently, the club sent him to the American Hockey League for a conditioning stint. Canada’s camp will run from Dec. 11-14 in Victoria, B.C., before the team selects its final 22-man roster. The tournament, which will be played in Vancouver and Victoria, will open Dec. 26 with Canada playing against Denmark. “It’s going to be interesting because of how big the scale is,” DiPietro said of the tournament in Canada.
“Being in Vancouver and Victoria, everything is magnified 1,000 per cent when it’s in Canada. But I’m just going to block out the noise and worry about stopping the puck.”