Comrie relishing in hot start to season

PHILADELPHIA — Eric Comrie insists there is nothing different when it comes to his approach for the new season.

When Winnipeg Jets head coach Scott Arniel shared recently with members of the media that he is looking to reduce the workload for reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck to under 60 starts, that also means the games played number will be on the rise for Comrie.

Arniel was true to his word on Monday, turning to Comrie against the New York Islanders in what was the third outing of the campaign.

“I’m just preparing every single day as though I’m playing. That’s the way I go about it,” said Comrie.

“I’m excited for the opportunity and excited for the chance to play more games. But for myself, it’s about taking care of every single day and dealing with what I have in front of me. Whether it’s practice or a game or whatever, it’s the same mindset. I’m preparing to be the best goalie I can be for that day.”

Comrie was tested early in Monday’s game, making three saves in the opening 27 seconds, including a sharp pad save off a one-timer from Islanders centre Mathew Barzal roughly five seconds in.

“It gets you into the game really fast,” said Comrie, who made 20 starts last season and finished with a 2.39 goals-against average and .914 save percentage to go along with a record of 9-10-1.

“For myself, the preparation for the game was right. Everything felt really good and I was ready for whatever came my way. Early goals can hurt teams. I know you can come back from them, but they hurt teams. You want to make sure that you give your team a chance to win and stopping early shots is the best way to do that.”

The Jets are back in action on Thursday at Xfiniti Mobile Arena as they face the Philadelphia Flyers and Hellebuyck will be between the pipes.

“…It’s about taking care of every single day and dealing with what I have in front of me.”

Comrie, who is in his third tour of duty with the Jets after the club chose him in the second round of the 2013 NHL draft, was happy with how last season went and he’s looking to build on that after a strong summer of training.

Known for his positive demeanour, Comrie concedes that being in an organization and situation he’s comfortable in — including the solid relationship with Hellebuyck and goalie coach Wade Flaherty — plays a role in the success he’s having, but getting back to full health was another important factor in his renaissance after two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres organization.

“My game was in a good spot in Buffalo too, I just had a lot of injuries. That’s just the way it went,” said Comrie.

“I tore my ACL and missed pretty much a whole year. It’s hard to come back from that. Things kind of piled up, and I didn’t find any success. When I came back here, everything went right again. It went well and everything fell into place. Hockey is a game where you need a couple of bounces here and there, too.”

Bounces are certainly important, but Comrie’s attitude and work ethic are two other character traits that have served him well over the years.

“You can’t have too many guys that work their tail off. It’s a good trait to have. He has a great demeanour. He’s always in a great mood.”

“He’s always prepared for the moment,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “We’ve got so much confidence in both guys. When you have a guy like Coms, who is one of the hardest-working guys on the team, it’s a contagious thing to have in your room.

“You can’t have too many guys that work their tail off. It’s a good trait to have. He has a great demeanour. He’s always in a great mood.”

With performances like the one he delivered on Monday, Comrie will make it easier for Arniel to turn to him to ensure Hellebuyck can stay rested and the Jets won’t need to worry about a significant drop-off when three-time Vezina Trophy winner takes a breather.

“He’s pretty excited to get it early. He didn’t have to wait quite as long as maybe in the past,” said Arniel. “And it just kind of lines itself up this way, (that) every two or three games (for Hellebuyck) and then he’ll go back in. That’s kind of how we’re looking at the schedule, because November gets real busy. So, we just wanted, more than anything, to get him up and going early. He had a good camp.”

The waiting game

There were a couple of positive signs on the injury front as defenceman Haydn Fleury and Cole Koepke were back on the ice after blocking shots during the past two games.

Fleury, who took a shot off the kneecap in Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings, was back on the third pairing with Luke Schenn during Wednesday’s workout.

Koepke was working on the fourth line with Morgan Barron, though the units were a bit jumbled since forwards Kyle Connor and Gustav Nyquist skipped the session due to maintenance.

Both Fleury and Koepke are listed as day-to-day, while Connor and Nyquist should be good to go for the final game of this two-game road trip.

 

Scouting the Flyers

The Flyers are 1-1-1 this season, but should be riding high after defeating the Florida Panthers in their home opener on Monday.

Flyers captain Sean Couturier led the way offensively in that game, chipping in two goals and four points.

Elkhorn product Travis Sanheim also had two assists on Monday and that helped him move into seventh place in Flyers franchise history for points by a defenceman (216) — and he’s just four points away from leapfrogging Ivan Provorov and Shayne Gostisbehere into fifth spot.

Sanheim is up to a goal and three points in three games this season and is looking for a strong start to the year so he can nail down a spot on the Canadian Olympic team after representing his country at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

With Rick Tocchet taking over as Flyers head coach, the Jets are expecting some tweaks to the style of game they played previously under John Tortorella.

“When there’s a coaching change, there’s always a little bit of a spark,” said Arniel. “Tocchet’s been a great coach in this league, and like he did in Vancouver, he brings out the best in people. I’m sure that there will be subtle changes that we’ll see.”

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @WiebesWorld