One afternoon this winter, former Boston University hockey goalie Rick DiPietro arrived at a New York Islanders practice wearing his Boston University sweatshirt instead of his usual Islanders gear.
“Cut the ties!” his NHL teammates taunted.
Cut the ties?
It was a tough thing to think about. After all, it was less than a year ago that DiPietro was sporting the scarlet and white fulltime as the starting goalie for the 1999-2000 Terrier hockey season.
“I fought through [the teasing],” DiPietro told WTBU last night. “I’ll always be a Terrier.”
Last night, DiPietro was one of the guests on WTBU’s weekly sport radio talk show “The Coaches Corner,” hosted by WTBU Sports Director Justin Kutcher and Terrier hockey captain Carl Corazzini.
The show also featured sophomore center Brian Collins, who has also been scooped up by the Islanders.
During the hour-long interview, DiPietro reflected on his decision to leave BU after just one year as starting goalie.
“The absolute last hour before signing the contract I was in my agent’s office, weighing the pros and cons,” DiPietro said.
The Winthrop native made NHL history last year when he became the first ever goalie to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. And even DiPietro was a bit surprised at that feat.
“I didn’t expect it,” DiPietro said. “I was hoping to go in the top 10, but I wasn’t expecting the Islanders. I was really happy about it, and my parents were psyched.”
On Jan. 27, DiPietro made his NHL debut, making 29 saves and picking up an assist in the Islanders’ 2-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
By the end of the season, the rookie had played in 20 games and compiled a record of 3-15-1 with a goals-against average of 3.49.
“I think we have a bright future right now,” DiPietro said. “It looks like we have some guys [in the front office] who are willing to spend some money and put together a good team.”
The Islanders are also a young team with five players between the ages of 19 and 20. But even the prevalence of players his own age hasn’t made the transition to life in the NHL easy.
“You learn to live on your own,” DiPietro said. “You’re going from college where there is so much camaraderie to a place where the guys are married and have families of their own. It’s a tough transition.
“It was a struggle sometimes. It’s a big jump. But I can’t say I regret it. All in all, I think it was a good decision for me.”
For DiPietro, whose accomplishments alone could fill its own media guide, it can sometimes be a humbling experience to compete against the same professionals he grew up watching on television as a high schooler at St. Sebastian’s.
“To talk to guys like Martin Brodeur and for them to go up to me and wish me good luck and give me advice is pretty amazing,” DiPietro said.
DiPietro also told WTBU listeners he still stays in touch with Corazzini, sophomore defenseman Freddy Meyer and other members of the hockey team. Both DiPietro and Corazzini played high school hockey with each other.
“I miss just sitting in the locker room with the guys talking to each other and ripping on each other,” DiPietro recalled.
His best memories of BU are what you might expect — last season’s Beanpot championship win over Boston College at the FleetCenter and last March’s heart-breaking, four-overtime loss in the NCAA tournament to St. Lawrence University.
“The St. Lawrence game was the epitome of our whole season,” DiPietro said. “I don’t think there was anything we could have done differently. I thought it was a pretty good way to go out.”
Despite his $1.075 million a year contract, DiPietro said he didn’t go out on a shopping spree for himself after inking the deal. Instead, he bought his brother a new car with the cash.
And after just a half season between the NHL pipes, DiPietro can already see some of the subtle differences between college hockey and the pros.
“[In] the rivalries in the NHL during the regular season you don’t see as much as the BU/BC rivalry,” DiPietro said. “It’s not quite as much of a bitter rivalry.
“[BU] coach [Jack] Parker is a class act. He’s one of the best coaches I’ve ever been lucky enough to play for. There’s not as much communication from player to coach in the NHL. I’d love to still be playing for coach Parker. It was a great experience, and I miss it.”
DiPietro continues to work with BU hockey strength trainer Mike Boyle during the summer. And he did not rule out returning to BU at some point — to take classes during the summer.
“The best piece of advice I ever received was that everyone has dreams of going to the NHL someday, and college is a stepping stone to the pros,” he said. “Last year was a dream season. My advice to people is that if the time is right and you feel you can meet the challenge — and it is a challenge, and not everyone can do it — then go for it.”
After the show, DiPietro couldn’t resist heading back to old-time hangout T. Anthony’s with Collins and others one last time — another refusal on DiPietro’s part to “cut the ties.”
“I just want to be remembered as someone who wasn’t arrogant, who cared about the fans, who worked the hardest and who was someone that people liked to have around,” DiPietro said.
This is an account occasionally used by the Daily Free Press editors to post archived posts from previous iterations of the site or otherwise for special circumstance publications. See authorship info on the byline at the top of the page.
