Born	September 19, 1981 (1981-09-19) (age 28), Winthrop, MA, U.S.
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg; 14 st 0 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Catches	Right
NHL team	New York Islanders
Ntl. team	United States
NHL Draft	1st overall, 2000 New York Islanders
Pro career	2000 – present

Rick DiPietro, Jr. (born September 19, 1981^[1][2]) is an American professional ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

[edit] Collegiate career

DiPietro attended Saint Sebastian's School but left after his sophomore year to play junior hockey in Michigan. He played one season (1999-2000) with Boston University in the NCAA's Hockey East. In that one year, DiPietro was named to the All-Rookie Team, named Second Team All-Hockey East, awarded the team's Co-MVP and was named Hockey East's Rookie of the Year. In addition, DiPietro nearly set the NCAA record for most saves in a game when he stopped 77 out of 80 shots in a 3-2 quadruple overtime loss to St. Lawrence University during the NCAA regional final (record is 78 and held by Dick Greenlaw). In his one and only Beanpot Tournament, DiPietro was named MVP and won the Eberly Trophy awarded to the tournament's top goaltender.

[edit] Professional career

He was drafted first overall by the New York Islanders in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, out of Boston University, prompting them to trade Roberto Luongo. Islander GM Mike Milbury traded Luongo, so that he could draft the highly-touted goalie known for his mobility and puck handling skills. DiPietro was the fourth American to occupy the top draft position in the NHL Entry Draft. Though his NHL debut was widely anticipated, he played 20 games in the 2000-2001 season and managed to post just 3 wins against 15 losses for a struggling New York team. DiPietro was subsequently sent to the minors for additional seasoning. He played for the Chicago Wolves of the IHL and the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the AHL. He played 10 games the next season (as well as one playoff game) before being called up for good in the 2003-2004 season. His goals-against average decreased from 3.49 in the 00-01 season to 2.36 in the 03-04 season.

DiPietro chooses to play the puck aggressively. In contrast to many goaltenders who prefer to either let the puck go around the boards or stop it so that a teammate can pick it up, DiPietro often chooses to make a pass into the neutral zone. In certain situations, particularly on the powerplay, the pass can reach open forwards and create odd-man rushes or breakaways.

Along with former Islanders teammates Jason Blake and Mark Parrish, DiPietro was named to the United States national hockey team at the 2006 Torino Winter Olympics, held in February 2006. DiPietro was Team USA's No. 1 goalie for the tournament, starting 4 of the team's 6 games. DiPietro played well, sporting a 2.28 goals against average, but went 1-3 during the Olympics.

On September 12, 2006, DiPietro signed a 15-year, $67.5 million contract with the Islanders. It is the longest official NHL contract ever to be signed, topping former teammate Alexei Yashin's contract signed before the start of the 2001-2002 season of 10 years.^[3] Newsday reported that the team offered him a 15-year contract in September 2005, but the league discouraged this; instead, he signed a one-year offer.

On March 5, 2007, DiPietro broke an Islanders franchise record by making 56 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss to the New York Rangers. The previous record was 55 saves, held by both Félix Potvin and Billy Smith. (The record was broken by Dwayne Roloson in 2009)^[4]

On March 13, 2007, DiPietro suffered a concussion after a collision with Montreal Canadiens forward Steve Bégin when DiPietro raced out to poke check a puck at the blueline at 15:41 of the first period. DiPietro returned for four games but then missed the rest of the regular season after he sustained another concussion in game against the New York Rangers. DiPietro returned to play games two through five of the Islanders' first round playoff series against the Buffalo Sabres.

Rick's concussion was the start of a string of injuries. DiPietro underwent surgery in the 2007 off season to fix a torn labrum in his hip.^[5]

In 2007, DiPietro expressed a desire to become more of a team leader. He said, "I'm a competitive person, and I have a tendency to have a short fuse with guys sometimes. That's something, as a leader, that you just can't do."^[5]

On November 19, 2007, DiPietro got his 100th NHL career win when the Islanders beat the New York Rangers 2-1.^[6]

DiPietro was selected to appear in his first NHL all star game in 2008 as a reserve, but he was named the starter because Martin Brodeur dropped out. Rick played outstandingly well, but did not get the win for the game because goaltender Tim Thomas gave up and subsequently regained the lead in the game. The most unfortunate aspect of Rick's appearance in the all-star game is that he hurt his hip during the skills competition the night before. He was heard to state "Ow, my (expletive) hip" while wearing the mic during the shootout event after making a save on Marian Gaborik. Although he was hurt, he continued to play until the Islanders no longer had a chance to make the playoffs. On March 19, 2008, it was announced that DiPietro would miss the remainder of the 07-08 season because of surgery on his hip.

On June 3, 2008, DiPietro went on a Sirius satellite radio show being hosted by "Bubba the Love Sponge," where he told Bubba he would be undergoing knee surgery later that day. The surgery was done on the meniscus in his left knee.

DiPietro sat out the first four games of the 2008–09 season (or, controversially, was on the bench as the backup) before starting the team's fifth game in Florida. He played two games after that, but left after the first period his third game back. After that, he was placed on injured reserve for an "undisclosed lower body injury." On November 1, it was announced DiPietro had undergone another knee surgery after injuring his meniscus. It is unknown whether it is the same knee that was operated on in June. DiPietro returned to the team on December 26, 2008. He won his first game back and broke Billy Smith's record for points for an Islanders goaltender when he assisted Kyle Okposo for the first goal of the game. He would go on to play a few more games, but would then be shut down after experiencing more pain. He has been practicing consistently but has been in and out of the lineup since then, due to minor swelling in his surgically repaired knee. Islanders coach Scott Gordon has specifically stated that Rick is still medically cleared to play, leading to the speculation that the team is being extra cautious with their franchise netminder.

On January 20, 2009, Islanders General Manager Garth Snow announced that DiPietro would miss the rest of the 2008–09 NHL season due to post-arthroscopic surgical swelling in his right knee. DiPietro had only played in five games prior to the swelling and had three operations over the course of one year, including hip and left knee surgery.

[edit] International play

Played for United States in:

• World Junior Hockey Championship - 2000, 2001
• World Cup of Hockey - 2004
• IIHF World Championships - 2005
• XX Olympic Winter Games - 2006

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Awards

• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2008)
• World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (WJC-A) All-Star Team (2000)
• Named Best Goaltender at WJC-A (2000)
• Hockey East Second All-Star Team (2000)
• Hockey East Rookie of the Year (2000)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Rick DiPietro's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Rick DiPietro's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Rick DiPietro's NHL player profile
• Rick DiPietro's U.S. Olympic Team bio with photos, features, wallpapers