Mikey DiPietro could have many begins on the Abbotsford Canucks.
There’s an outdated joke about methods to make an elephant statue. All you need to do is get a big block of granite and knock away something that does not appear like an elephant.
The identical may very well be stated of making an NHL roster. The Vancouver Canucks began their coaching camp with 54 gamers and threw away the whole lot that did not appear like their opening squad.
The primary reduce dropped a large chunk of granite to the bottom when 16 gamers had been despatched to the Abbotsford Canucks or their junior golf equipment. The following cuts had been a bit smaller because the crew despatched Danila Klimovich to Abbotsford and waived Jonah Gadjovich and noticed that he was claimed by the San Jose Sharks.
Now the Canucks have thrown away two extra gamers, neither of whom had a terrific probability of creating it onto the opening night time record. Nonetheless, certainly one of them might spend a while in Vancouver relying on the circumstances.
Potential goalkeeper Mikey DiPietro has been despatched to Abbotsford whereas veteran striker Sheldon Dries has been waived to be assigned to Abbotsford.
Name him Mike, Michael, or Mikey: simply give him a name within the NHL
DiPietro left Mikey way back, however made it clear to reporters that he did not thoughts within the least in the event that they needed to name him “Mike” or “Michael”. Some reporters thought “Mikey” was a infantile nickname, however let’s needless to say a few of the greatest gamers in NHL historical past had been known as “Bobby” as an alternative of “Robert”.
With the newly expanded Thatcher Demko and seasoned backup Jaroslav Halak in entrance of him, the possibilities of DiPietro getting the Canucks out of storage had been larger than a flight from Utica to Vancouver. That did not cease DiPietro from coming into the camp with the mindset of forming the crew.
“My objective is to create the Vancouver Canucks,” DiPietro stated through the offseason. “My objective is to make it extraordinarily tough for them to ship me down.”
In the course of the coaching camp he was a little bit extra philosophical and considered a tough 12 months during which he hardly acquired any enjoying time.
“I simply take it each day. Typically, when you’ve gotten plans, issues occur, ”stated DiPietro. “That taught me over the previous 12 months to easily benefit from the second.”
DiPietro appeared improbable from the beginning of the rookie camp, which he solely attended to supply an additional goalkeeper. He did his greatest to stifle the spirit of the Canucks’ rookie strikers by making breathtaking saves to verify there weren’t any straightforward targets.
“If you wish to rating targets as a goalkeeper, then one thing is mistaken,” smiles DiPietro when requested about his aggressive character in coaching. “It is simply who I’m … I feel it is a good factor once you put it into follow as a result of that interprets it into the video games.”
It undoubtedly translated. DiPietro was in fine condition in each of his preseason appearances, scoring 32 saves out of 35 whole pictures for a save proportion of 0.914. His fashion is a captivating mixture of calm, positionally strong saves and acrobatic desperation.
DiPietro has all the time had this athleticism and the competitiveness to make use of that athleticism to maintain the puck off the web in each doable method. Now he has a firmer basis for this athleticism. A few of his most spectacular parades had been those he made look the simplest.
DiPietro will journey to Abbotsford the place he’s anticipated to begin many – and I imply many – video games for the AHL Canucks.
After all, he is just one damage away from being within the NHL. If both Demko or Halak are unavailable at any time this season, DiPietro is only a quick drive on Freeway 1 from Vancouver.
Alternative dried up: Sheldon Dries on waivers
Sheldon Dries had an opportunity to get the Canucks out of storage, but it surely was slim. With Brandon Sutter and Tyler Motte injured, there was a transparent opening on the fourth line and Dries might have fought for a type of locations together with his expertise each within the heart and on the wing.
The 5’9 ”Dries has NHL expertise. He performed 40 video games for the Colorado Avalanche within the 2018/19 season, however solely 8 video games in two subsequent seasons because the Avalanche’s improved ahead depth pushed him again into the AHL.
Dries had a strong shot the preseason and appeared in 4 preseason video games. He simply by no means did sufficient to get observed.
It would not assist that the Canucks are out to play JT Miller within the center and push Jason Dickinson all the way down to heart the fourth line. With the eclectic Justin Dowling seeming to deserve a fourth-row spot, and larger gamers like Justin Bailey and Zack MacEwen crowding for a spot too, there was no room for Dries.
Dries will probably be a welcome addition to Abbotsford. He performs an lively recreation and may earn AHL-level factors, together with 21 targets in 50 video games within the 2019-20 season. It’s not out of the query that he will probably be known as as much as Vancouver, however he’ll face quite a lot of competitors if a seat turns into vacant as a result of an damage.
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