DD

At the 2022 Young Stars Classic, Dominic DiVincentiis waited until the third and final game of the tournament for his Winnipeg Jet debut. He ended up winning that start as the Jets wrapped up the Penticton event with a 5-3 victory.

DiVincentiis started the opener of the 2023 edition on Friday night which he was clearly excited about.

“It’s super special. I said it in my other interview the other day, me waiting those two games (in 2022) to get into that third one was actually really important for me to learn from Oskari (Salminen) and Arvid (Holm) when they were playing and their preparation to get into these games,” said DiVincentiis before Friday’s game against the Oilers.

“I mean to get into this first one here is an honour. Starting off the tournament strong, coming in here I’m prepared.”

The 19-year-old was the Jets best player Friday night making 33 stops in the 3-1 setback.

“I didn’t see him making any acrobatic saves or getting too far out of the net where he had to make a real athletic save,” said Moose head coach Mark Morrison.

“He was just always in the right position and made it look easy.”

DiVincentiis added that he felt this year’s Young Stars squad have gelled quickly and one of the major factors behind that this time is there was a development camp back in July.

“Not everyone realizes that development camp is actually a way to meet new guys and gel from that camp. Then two months later, we are all here together in Penticton, it’s like we never even left,” said DiVincentiis.

“We all had the joke the other day when we got to Winnipeg, we got to the practice rink for the first day. We’re like ‘It feels like I never even left. I just got back (home)’. Now that we’re here in Penticton with a couple new guys coming into the tournament. (Colby) Barlow hasn’t been at this tournament before, obviously I’m close with him. I’ve been telling him ‘Just play your game buddy. Don’t overthink it, enjoy it, it’s a blast.’”

Few people from the Jets prospects know Barlow as well as DiVincentiis as the two face each other in the Ontario Hockey League, Barlow is with the Owen Sound Attack and DiVincentiis is the star goaltender from the North Bay Battalion. Barlow scored 46 goals in 59 games in his draft year before the Jets selected him in the first round this past June.

“He’s an incredible player. His shot’s ridiculous. It’s a heavy shot and he’s a sharpshooter. You can tell the way he releases his shot. He sees the net very well and goal scorers get into the areas to score,” said DiVincentiis.

“Obviously, with those stats there, it’s not a secret that he’s a goal scorer and a sniper. Playing him in the OHL is fun. We come here this week and we’re on the same team, teammates and then you go there and you’re competing against each other. It’s always a blast playing him and like I said he’s a phenomenal player.”

DiVincentiis is no slouch himself. Moose goaltending coach Drew MacIntyre was raving about him and fellow Jets goaltending prospect Thomas Milic and how they are both students of the game. DiVincentiis also has high praise for MacIntyre.

“I’ve worked with Drew now since I was drafted and he’s given me a ton of feedback which I love,” said DiVincentiis.

“I ask him for more all the time because being a student of the game is important. It’s not only going to make you better, but it also will make you understand different scenarios, different situations. Working with the best of the best like Drew, you don’t get that every single day of your life. Not everyone gets that so when you have it you really have to take advantage of it.”