Domenic DiVincentiis – North Bay Battalion – Player Profile

HT	WT	DOB	POS	CATCHES	OHL DRAFT	NHLCS	COUNTRY
6’2”	181	3-4-04	G	L	116th 2020	24th NA	CANADA

I will admit that I am baffled at NHL Central Scouting’s ranking of North Bay Battalion Goaltender Domenic DiVincentiis. I am even more baffled that they dropped him eleven spots from their mid term ranking to their final ranking among North American Goaltenders. That change dropped him from fourth among OHL goaltenders to seventh. The fact is, there are plenty of OHL people that believe he is the top OHL goaltender for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft.

Among draft eligible netminders, DiVincentiis finished with the best goals-against-average (winning the Dinty Moore Trophy as the rookie goaltender with the lowest GAA) and third best save-percentage, surpassed only by two draft re-entry or “overagers”. The Battalion coaching staff had enough confidence in him to start half their playoff games over the older and much more experienced teammate Joe Vrbetic.

At 6’2” DiVincentiis has good size. There are aspects of his game that are further ahead in development. He’s an athletic goaltender who is excellent on his skates and enables him to go post-to-post or dart out to the top of the paint quickly. His technique is also very good. He is square to shooters, stays tall in his net and I like how he gives opponents little to no room when in the reverse-VH. While he is no Mike Smith, he handles the puck pretty well.

Like any goaltender at this level, DiVincentiis doesn’t come without some warts – or more fairly, things to work on. His rebound control needs work as does his ability to fight through traffic to see how the play is developing. In tight with traffic, he also needs some work at staying focused and tracking the puck. These are all fixable through coaching as long as he is willing to put in the work and the effort. There is nothing to suggest he won’t.

DiVincentiis was part of Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence last summer, so they too saw something in the young netminder. I’ve said it before, but I don’t believe this year’s draft class to be a great class among OHL goaltenders. We may not see one selected until late in the third round, maybe early fourth. But DiVincentiis should get some consideration to be the first one selected.