“From the moment I met Michael, his game has always been in the right place,” Ryan Mougenel
Michael DiPietro and the Providence Bruins have collected plenty of awards in recent weeks, enough to turn a trophy case into a trophy room. Among them, Ryan Mougenel won the AHL’s Coach of the Year, the Bruins secured the best record in the American Hockey League, and DiPietro was the Goaltender of the Year for the second season in a row and was recently named the MVP of the league.
It took time for DiPietro to become a good goaltender, spending two seasons with the Utica Comets and another with the Abbotsford Canucks before joining the Bruins in 2022-23. Once he arrived, he became an elite goaltender and is in the middle of an incredible run where he’s become the most dominant player in the AHL. “From the moment I met Michael, his game has always been in the right place,” Ryan Mougenel mentioned in a conversation with The Hockey News.
Usually, when a player stands out in the AHL, they are in the NHL in no time. DiPietro, however, is still waiting for his opportunity and hasn’t gotten it yet. Being a goaltender has complicated things for DiPietro. That said, the question is when a team will take a chance on him, knowing the rewards if it works out.
What More Does DiPietro Need to Do?
That’s the question everyone around the AHL has asked, and one Mougenel has been asked in each of the past two seasons. After putting together a .930 save percentage (SV%) and a 1.91 goals-against average (GAA) with 34 wins and three shutouts, it’s fair to ask that question.
“He just needs the opportunity,” Mougenel noted in a conversation with The Hockey News. At this point, he’s proven he can dominate at the AHL level and has improved his game to become a well-rounded goaltender.
DiPietro has the athletic ability to make big saves and recover off the initial shot. He also understands where the shot is coming from and how the play is developing to make the initial save. Like many great goaltenders, DiPietro is a student of the game, and it’s why he’s only getting better.
The Bruins head into the Calder Cup Playoffs as the favorites and will turn to DiPietro to carry them. It’s one of the few things the elite goaltender hasn’t done, which might remove any doubt about his ability to star in the NHL, which is to lead the team on a deep playoff run. Last season, Arturs Silovs led the Abbotsford Canucks to a Calder Cup title, and he earned a role in the Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltending unit because of it. The Bruins winning it all might do the same for DiPietro.
The Knock on DiPietro
DiPietro went through waivers in the offseason and wasn’t claimed by another team. The Buffalo Sabres claimed Colten Ellis from the St. Louis Blues, a sign that teams aren’t high on DiPietro. The thought around the league is that if he could be in the NHL, he would be by now.
The problem is that DiPietro is small for a goaltender, standing at only six feet. Sure, Dustin Wolf and Juuse Saros made it in the NHL as smaller goaltenders but they are the expectations and force the teams to build their defenses around them to compensate for the spaces they can’t cover.
It provides a blueprint for opponents to beat DiPietro. They can beat him high and particularly, go to the top shelf with their shots once he goes down to make a save. The Bruins have a defense that covers up this deficiency as they protect the interior and the slot in the offensive zone and force teams to spray pucks from along the boards at him. That works in the AHL but is unlikely to work in the NHL.
That’s the other issue teams look at, the difference between the AHL and the NHL, especially with how offense is generated. The AHL is chaos with lucky bounces, shots from the point, and quick scoring chances with minimal puck movement. The NHL has more structure and detail, as teams will score on one-timers or set plays off the face-off. It’s why teams want a bigger goaltender in the net who can make the stop even without being in the right position. DiPietro is a good AHL goaltender. The NHL remains an unknown, and general managers (GMs) don’t want to take a chance on him, knowing their jobs are on the line.
Goaltending is Down Around The NHL, So Why Not Give DiPietro a Shot?
The average SV% in the NHL this season was .896, a significant dip from recent seasons. While that number is inflated by shot volume being down and shot quality going up, goaltenders have struggled. Multiple teams in the playoffs have questionable goaltending and even liabilities in the net, and elite play is hard to come by.
The Boston Bruins had Jeremy Swayman as their starter, who put together a great season. However, they went with Joonas Korpisalo as their backup, who had -1.1 goals saved above average (GSAA).
Ideally, the Bruins bring him in as a backup. If they don’t have a team that needs a backup should. Yes, there’s a risk involved in bringing in a smaller goaltender, yet the payoff could be tremendous, especially if DiPietro remains dominant in the NHL. All it takes is for one team to give the 26-year-old goaltender in his prime a chance.