Playing a teenager in net is a unicorn moment in the National Hockey League. The Vancouver Canucks had few other options when they started 19-year-old Michael DiPietro against the San Jose Sharks last night.
With injuries to Thatcher Demko and Jacob Markstrom, the Canucks called up DiPietro on an emergency basis from the Ottawa 67’s of the Ontario Hockey League to make his NHL debut. Throwing a teenager to face one of the most potent offenses in the league, even without Erik Karlsson in the lineup, was a difficult spot for the Canucks to be in and it played out as poorly for them as expected.