The IIHF World Championships is set to begin May 4th in Denmark, and there have already been plenty of players announced to the Team Canada roster. Add one more name to the goaltending group, as Rick Dhaliwal of News 1130 in Vancouver is reporting that Canucks’ draft pick Michael DiPietro has received an invitation. Dhaliwal expects DiPietro to be the third goaltender, but it is still a huge honor for the 18-year old.
Amazingly, DiPietro was cut from the Canadian World Junior squad earlier this season but will now represent the country on an even bigger stage. Carter Hart, the starter for that World Junior team is still in the WHL playoffs with the Everett Silvertips.
DiPietro was the third goaltender off the board last June, selected at the beginning of the third round. He went back to the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL and had another solid season, turning up his performance in the playoffs. Though the Spitfires were eliminated early, it wasn’t their goaltending that lost the series. DiPietro put up a .934 save percentage, stopping 226 shots in six games.
Inviting an unsigned draft pick—DiPietro still has not signed with the Canucks—to join the World Championship team is a lesson Canada may have learned from USA Hockey, who brought along Cal Petersen last year to experience the tournament as a third goaltender.