"I have to keep telling myself that I have a lot of years left and not to push too much and put myself in jeopardy," said DiPietro, who is in the fourth year of his 15-year deal and is still recovering from knee surgery after being limited to five games last season. "The one thing that frustrates me is when people say I can't stay healthy. It's not like anyone goes out there and tries to get hurt. It would be one thing -- and I would accept the criticism -- if I came into camp out of shape, fat and lazy, but I consider myself a pretty hard worker and I come into camp in great shape."
"I think everyone realized coming in that at some point, there'd be a logjam of goalies," DiPietro said. "Right now, I'm the odd guy out and hurt. But there's nothing etched in stone. I've still got to work my way back and do everything I can to get back in the lineup. I don't want to be handed anything and told, 'This is your job again.' I want to earn it."
"Maybe it's just the recklessness that I play with that gets me in trouble sometimes," DiPietro said. "If that means I put myself at risk, so be it . . . People can say what they want, but it's up to me to just play and play well and whatever happens, happens."
I am going to go out on a limb and say that when DiPietro does come back, he will start as a number 3 goalie, and end the season as the teams backup. I can't see the Islanders making him a full time starter this year. He has a lot of rust to shake off, and that conditioning stint in Bridgeport will be very helpful. He must come back healthy and ready to go by the start of next season. If/when he proves he's ready to take over the number one spot, the Islanders will be that much better.
2 comments:
Maybe he should dump that 'so be it' attitude towards reckless play. Its better to let in a few more goals and avoid injury. Ken Griffey Jr. may not regret crashing into so many walls but all the teams he played for and their fans regret it.
I think the Islanders will restrict what he can do for this year so that he can be 100% healthy for next season. At least he's learned some humility now, and not later.
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