With Brandon Bussi finding recent success in Carolina—context aside—a portion of the Bruins fan base has begun pounding the table for Don Sweeney and Marco Sturm to give Michael DiPietro a look at the NHL level as the backup to Jeremy Swayman.
But is he ready for that step?
I’ve followed his career since his days in the Alliance U16 league with the Sun County Panthers, and he’s since logged time in the OHL, AHL, and NHL. Internationally, he’s represented Canada at the World U17 Hockey Challenge, the U18 World Championship, the Hlinka Memorial, the World Junior Championship, the CHL–Russia Super Series (twice), and the World Championship.
He’s captured a championship with Team Ontario at the Canadian Winter Games, earned a silver medal at the OHL Gold Cup, and added both a Memorial Cup title and a World Championship to his resume.
His list of individual awards and accomplishments is far too long to detail here.
In short, DiPietro has found success at every level he’s played — with one exception: the NHL.
But that came at a different time with a different organization, one that threw him to the wolves with two NHL starts spread over two seasons. His development took an even bigger hit when the Vancouver Canucks parked him on the taxi squad during the COVID‑19 season, costing him an entire year of meaningful reps and development.
The Bruins came calling on October 27, 2022, acquiring him and giving his development a fresh start. Under the guidance of Mike Dunham, DiPietro has elevated his game to become one of the AHL’s top goaltenders for a second straight season. But the bulk of the credit belongs to DiPietro himself — his work ethic and day‑to‑day commitment to improvement are matched by few. Last season, he even took over the starting job in Providence from Bussi on his way to being named the AHL’s top goaltender.
The longstanding knock on DiPietro has centered on his lack of prototypical NHL goaltending size, a concern he often offset at lower levels with elite athleticism. I’ll admit I’ve fallen into that line of thinking myself at times.
Under Dunham’s guidance, DiPietro has reshaped his game, reducing his reliance on pure athleticism and instead leaning into a more controlled, technically sound approach. His movements are quieter, his positioning more disciplined, and the result is a goaltender who looks increasingly refined. What fuels DiPietro now is simple: the drive to prove his doubters wrong.
All DiPietro can ask for is an opportunity.
With Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo away at the Olympics—and the Bruins currently without a goaltender for mini‑camp beginning February 17—DiPietro could get his first real opportunity to showcase himself if the club opts to recall a netminder. There’s no guarantee Boston makes that move, but the alternative is hardly ideal; someone has to be in the crease.
From there, the situation becomes more complicated. The Bruins are locked in a playoff race, and this is hardly the time for experimentation with critical points on the line every night. The ideal scenario is straightforward: Boston secures a postseason berth early enough to give Swayman a breather in what has become a compressed schedule before the playoffs arrive.
Just as important, the Bruins still need to determine whether DiPietro can be a reliable NHL‑caliber backup. The only way to make that assessment is to give him a look in a couple of NHL games and see how he handles the workload—particularly if the organization is considering changes to its goaltending picture this offseason.
But if the Bruins go that route, those appearances need to be meaningful. That means quality starts—not soft matchups against teams like the Rangers, Blues, or Canucks, but tests against top‑tier opponents such as the Lightning or Hurricanes.
Now the watch begins.
Dom - Hockey 