Wade Dubielewicz

Apr 04, 2008 | By Ben Chaisson | Players Articles Archive

Wade Dubielewicz (born January 30, 1979), is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender who plays for the New York Islanders of the NHL. Dubielewicz went undrafted and was signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders on May 26, 2003.

Dubielewicz is a fan favorite at the Arena at Harbor Yard, home of the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers. "Dubie" holds numerous AHL league records that still stand to this day. He holds the AHL/Sound Tigers records for most shutouts (15) and wins (81) in a career, and highest save percentage (.946) and goals against average (1.38) in a season (during the 2003-04 AHL season), passing the records of Rick DiPietro. Dubielewicz won the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the top rookie in the AHL for 2003-04. Before signing with the Islanders, he was an all-American goaltender for the University of Denver Pioneers, as well as for the Fernie Ghostriders.

Dubielewicz made his first appearance of the 2006-2007 season for the New York Islanders on March 15th, relieving Mike Dunham. In the regular season, he started the Islanders' final 5 games with a record of 4-1-0. On April 8, 2007, in the final game of the season against the New Jersey Devils, after Dubielewicz gave up a goal with .7 seconds left in regulation, he rebounded to stop the Devils in the shootout of a 3-2 victory to send the Islanders into the postseason as the 8th seed, eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dubielewicz made his postseason debut on April 12, 2007 on the road in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Buffalo Sabres. He allowed 4 goals on 35 shots in a 4-1 loss, giving the Sabres a 1-0 series lead. His teammate Rick DiPietro would get the start in goal for Game 2, after recovering from an injury.

The Islanders re-signed Dubielewicz to a one-year contract worth $500,000 for the 2007-2008 season. There is no word as of yet whether Dubielewicz will be signed again by the Islanders, but Dubielewicz has expressed on many occasions his desire to remain an Islander- calling himself "An Islander at heart".

Wade Dubielewicz

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