SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Michael DiPietro of the Providence Bruins is the winner of the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for the 2024-25 season.
The award was voted on by coaches, players and members of the media representing each of the league’s 32 cities.
DiPietro was one of the top goaltenders in the league from start to finish in 2024-25, beginning the season with seven consecutive starts allowing two goals or fewer and closing with a 9-1-1 record in his final 11 decisions. All told, DiPietro went 26-8-5 in 40 appearances for Providence, finishing second in the league in victories, second in save percentage (.927) and third in goals-against average (2.05) while establishing career bests in all three categories. DiPietro garnered his first selection to the AHL All-Star Classic in February – where he earned a share of the CCM Top Goaltender award during the annual Skills Competition – and he was voted a First Team AHL All-Star last week.
DiPietro has appeared in 145 career AHL games over his six pro seasons with Providence, Abbotsford and Utica, posting a record of 84-42-13 with a 2.54 GAA, a .914 save percentage and nine shutouts. The 25-year-old native of Windsor, Ont., was selected by Vancouver in the third round of the 2017 NHL Draft and has made three career appearances in the NHL, all with the Canucks. He was acquired by the Boston Bruins via trade on Oct. 27, 2022.
The Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award, which was first presented in 1984, honors former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Baz Bastien, who played four seasons in goal with the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets (1945-49) before suffering a career-ending eye injury. Bastien would go on to serve as head coach and general manager of the Hornets, leading them to the 1967 Calder Cup championship. Previous winners of the award include Jon Casey (1985), Sam St. Laurent (1986), Mark Laforest (1987, ’91), Felix Potvin (1992), Corey Hirsch (1993), Jim Carey (1995), Manny Legace (1996), Martin Biron (1999), Dwayne Roloson (2001), Jason LaBarbera (2004, ’07), Ryan Miller (2005), Michael Leighton (2008), Cory Schneider (2009), Jonathan Bernier (2010), Jake Allen (2014), Peter Budaj (2016), Troy Grosenick (2017), Alex Nedeljkovic (2019), Kaapo Kahkonen (2020), Logan Thompson (2021), Dustin Wolf (2022, ’23) and Hunter Shepard (2024).
In operation since 1936, the American Hockey League continues to serve as the top development league for all 32 National Hockey League teams. Nearly 90 percent of all players competing in the NHL are AHL graduates, and through the years the American Hockey League has been home to more than 100 honored members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
The winner of the 2024-25 Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award (outstanding rookie) will be announced Thursday.
