Formatting String to "dd/MM/yy" - vb.net

Question

I have a string which needs converting to "dd/MM/yy". I am converting it to a Date datatype and then formatting it back to a string. I was wondering if there is an easier/elegant way of doing it.
Here is an example of how I am achieving this now
Dim strValue As String = "17/08/2016"
Dim dteValue as Date = Convert.ToDateTime(strValue)
strValue = dteValue.ToString("dd/MM/yy")
What I am looking for is a way of converting without casting it to a Date datatype, is it possible?

Answer 1

Without casting it to Date I would suggest:
Dim strValue As String = "17/08/2016"
strValue = strValue.PadLeft(6) & strValue.PadRight(2)
It takes my computer 1 ms to process above code 10.000 times, but 22 ms to process yours.
Edit: if the date has different lengths, you could split on the forwardslash and rebuilt it:
Dim arrSplitValue() As String = Split("17/08/2016", "/")
Dim strValue As String = arrSplitValue(0) & "/" & arrSplitValue(1) & "/" & arrSplitValue(2).PadRight(2)

Answer 2

You could use an extension method:
public static string ToMyDateString(this string stringDate)
{
return DateTime.Parse(stringDate).ToString("dd/MM/yy");
}
And then use it like so:
string strValue = "17/08/2016".ToMyDateString();
or
string strValue = "17/08/2016";
string strValueDate = strValue.ToMyDateString();
Just realised you're in VB.NET so pretty sure it'll translate over. If I get a moment I'll try and do it in VB.NET.
VB.NET version
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension> _
Public Shared Function ToMyDateString(stringDate As String) As String
Return DateTime.Parse(stringDate).ToString("dd/MM/yy")
End Function
Warning - this has just been put through a converter, so may need to be tweaked.