Vancouver Canucks top prospects of week 24: DiPietro, Dahlen and Lind
No. 3 – RW Kole Lind (Kelowna Rockets, WHL)
The playoffs tend to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Generally, the higher seeded team is favoured, but if parity is present, theoretically anyone can win. There is no advantage for winning a division and the Kelowna Rockets learned that the hard way.
Kole Lind and his squad played in two games this week. They had to win at least one of those games to keep their season alive. Unfortunately, they could not pull it off. Kelowna lost both games 5-3, allowing Tri-City to complete the sweep and eliminate the Rockets.
Lind had a goal and three assists this week in his losing efforts. With his season over, he signed an ATO with the Utica Comets and will report there shortly. The Comets could certainly use the reinforcements as Nikolay Goldobin and Tyler Motte won’t return until next week.
I am very interested to see how Lind will adjust to the AHL. The game is so much faster and Lind will be lighter than the other pros around him. Skating is so important in the modern game and the transition from junior to the minor leagues can come as a shock.
Playoffs are on the horizon for the Comets, so I can’t wait to see how he does. I just hope Lind gets enough opportunities like Jake Virtanen did with Travis Green back then. He could just as easily sit for most of the games if Trent Cull does not deem him ready. Whatever happens, I am still excited to see how this plays out.
No. 2 – LW Jonathan Dahlén (Timrå IK, Allsvenskan)
So, things aren’t going so well for Timrå. Already down 1-0 in the promotion series, they find themselves on the brink of elimination and being sent back to the Allsvenskan next season. In three games this week, Timrå only won once. The series is 3-1 for Karlskrona, so it is make or break for Jonathan Dahlén and his team.
In those three games, Dahlén picked up four points, including a pair of goals. Ryan Biech has the GIF for one of them.
Dahlén is doing everything in his power to push Timrå over the top. Despite Karskrona being the worst team in the SHL this year, the series is showing how difficult promotion can be. We will have to wait and see how this team fares in the face of adversity. Who knows? Maybe Karlskrona struggles to close out the series.
I’m sure the Canucks are keeping a close eye on Dahlén. The team does have one more recall for the season, so if Timrå is eliminated, Dahlen could be brought to Vancouver. Or even better, join the Comets on their playoff run.
No. 1 – G Michael DiPietro (Windsor Spitfires, OHL)
The story of Michael DiPietro‘s season is a roller coaster. I’m not just talking about his play either. The Windsor Spitfires are in a rebuild and I wondered if the team would move their starting netminder. Alas, DiPietro was left a man on an island. The team would live and die by how well he played, which would be a nightmare for most goaltenders.
Good thing, Mikey isn’t most goaltenders. Yes, the season has had it’s ups and downs, but some of his best games were in this playoff series against Sarnia. Things looked good last week, when the series was even at one game a piece.
However, the team’s difficulties with goal-scoring would eventually be their undoing. DiPietro was playing his heart out, facing 147 shots through four games this week. That total was 242 over the course of the series. Out of fairness, his team needed to score goals. I don’t think there is anything more he could have done, short of doing the impossible and shutting out Sarnia four out of seven times.
The Spitfires were eliminated in six games and DiPietro left with a .934 save percentage. Not bad, considering he was under siege in nearly every game of that series. Once again, Rick Dhaliwal has the inside scoop of what could happen with him soon.
#Canucks goalie prospect Michael DiPietro’s OHL season is over today. There has been discussion about DiPietro going to Utica to work out with the Comets goalie coaches and practise. He is still not signed by Van or signed a PTO.
— Rick Dhaliwal (@DhaliwalSports) April 1, 2018
There is no rush to sign him, but I do like the sound of him getting to join practices with Utica. Assuming no injuries, I see no issue. One final thing to note about DiPietro’s season. There aren’t many advanced statistics for goaltenders, but I do like the use of GSAA, or goals saved above average.
A simple explanation is that this value compares goaltenders to the average in their league. Michael DiPietro has a GSAA of 30.54, which is the second highest value in the OHL according to prospect-stats.com.
Next: It is time to let go of the Sedins
Despite being on a rebuilding team, he has shown that his skills are well above the OHL average. This bodes well for the future of Canucks goaltending, especially with Thatcher Demko making more and more progress. Vancouver won’t need to draft another goaltender this year, but could look to bolster this area in the next three years. For now, the most pressing need is on defence. Fortunately for them, the best player available could very well be a defenceman.