Canucks fans will have several players to keep an eye on during the 2018 World Hockey Championship: Bo Horvat has been named to Team Canada, Anders Nilsson and Elias Pettersson are expected to suit up for Team Sweden, and Thatcher Demko is a possibility for Team USA depending on how far Utica goes in the AHL playoffs.
One surprising addition, however, is Michael DiPietro. The Canucks goaltending prospect has been added to Team Canada and is expected to be the team’s third goaltender. That likely means he won’t see any game action unless the team faces some bad luck with injuries, but it still promises to be an excellent experience for DiPietro.
DiPietro was one of the final cuts for Team Canada at the 2018 World Junior Championship, which makes it somewhat of a surprise he got the call to join the men. The biggest reason he’s getting the call, however, might be next year’s World Junior tournament.
While he was cut from last year’s team, DiPietro still has one more year of eligibility for the World Juniors, as he will turn 19 in June. Both Team Canada goaltenders from the 2018 tournament, Carter Hart and Colton Point will be 20, so they will need two new goaltenders, including a number one starter.
DiPietro has the inside line on getting the starting job for the 2019 World Juniors and getting him on the World Championship squad will give Hockey Canada ample time to work with him in practice and give him things to address over the summer. It’s an opportunity for them to assess DiPietro and make sure that he’s working on the things they want him to work on heading into next season.
Getting the chance to face NHL-caliber shots in practice from the likes of Connor McDavid, Jordan Eberle, and Mathew Barzal should help DiPietro realize where he needs to improve and the level of play to which he should aspire.
Fellow Canucks goaltending prospect Thatcher Demko had the same experience back in 2016, as he was the third goaltender for Team USA behind Keith Kinkaid and Mike Condon. Like DiPietro, Demko wasn’t expected to play and didn’t, but there’s a strong argument to be made that he should have.
Kinkaid and Condon were terrible, posting two of the worst save percentages of the tournament at .871 and .878, respectively, which was entirely predictable given their struggles in the NHL that season. Despite that, Demko couldn’t even get into a game as a backup on the bench.
The caliber of goaltenders ahead of DiPietro should be a bit higher. The lone confirmed goaltender is Darcy Kuemper, who has been a solid NHL backup during his six-year career. He posted sterling numbers with the Los Angeles Kings this season before coming back down to earth after a trade to the Arizona Coyotes, but still finished the season with a .920 save percentage.
The other potential goaltender for Team Canada is Cam Talbot, though he has not yet accepted their invitation to the team. Talbot had a rough season for the Oilers, posting a .908 save percentage, but his career numbers are significantly better. He was one of the tournament’s best goaltenders during the 2016 World Championship, posting a .940 save percentage along with four shutouts.
DiPietro is coming off a superb season in the OHL, despite playing for a significantly weaker Windsor Spitfires team than last season. He was sixth in the OHL with a .910 save percentage and led the OHL with seven shutouts.
