| Rank | DOB | Age | Acquired | Pos | Garret | Terrell | Tim | Ryan | Travis | TJ | Daniel | Jacob |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 1995/07/06 | 19 | #59, 2013 | G | 13 | 13 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 14 |
Previous Rank: 19th
Eric Comrie had a pretty solid year. Concerns over a hip surgery cutting Comrie's draft season short, caused the young netminders draft stock to drop. Despite these worries, Comrie emerged this season as a top CHL goaltender, posting the WHL's second highest save percentage.
Regardless of Comrie's elite save percentage, Eric was unable to garner much wins for his team. The Tri-City Americans were one of worst teams in the WHL for being outshot. Comrie was second in saves and third in saves per game for WHL starting goaltenders.
Comrie will be finishing his junior eligibility playing for the Americans once more before transitioning to pro-level for 2015-16.
Comrie will also have a shot with representing Canada at the World Juniors, although currently Comrie looks to be just on the outside. Zachary Fucale has draft pedigree, a Memorial Cup trophy under his belt, and a historic Win/Loss ratio. (Of course none of this came from the added benefit of playing behind future NHL All-Stars Nathan MacKinnion, Jonnathan Drouin, and Nikolaj Ehlers.) Tristan Jarry led the WHL in wins, has similar WHL career save percentage, and is the reigning Memorial Cup champion.
While save percentage relative to league average is best indication of talent, Canada has a history of going with the "clutch wins".
AIH Authors' Thoughts:
Tim:
In my opinion Eric Comrie is the most intriguing of the Winnipeg Jets young goalie prospects. He isn’t a pro-styled player at this stage of his career, but man oh man is he fast. He moves better laterally than either Hutchinson or Hellebuyck and his reflexes are incredibly fast. To date he appears tp rely too much on these reflexes. This can lead to moments of poor positioning, but the kid attles and ultimately stops a lot of pucks. Lots to like here, especially as he develops and settles down his movement.
Ryan:
Eric Comrie is amongst the group of young netminders that gives this organization plenty of hope, because could any of them really be worse than the current starter? His stats in the WHL are impressive and his form looked solid at both development camps that I watched. I have high hopes, but that might just be because our goalie situation is so hilariously inept that I’ll take anything.
Garret:
I’ve watched a lot of Comrie, but mostly against Nic Petan, Chase De Leo, and the elite Winterhawks squad. That’s led to me mostly watching Comrie getting pelted with 35+ shots against with an absent minded defense in front. Kid has quick lateral movement he has always been known for, while his position has been improving over the past few seasons. Should be on WJC with Jarry, but probably only one of the two will be playing.
Daniel:
Full disclosure: I haven’t seen a lot of Eric Comrie’s play. But from what I’ve both seen and heard, Comrie has high-end potential. He has sufficient – though not great – size, is very quick in the net, has a good glove hand, and plays and has a good ability to read plays. He plays an aggressive hybrid style and comes out far to cut down angles and take away net from shooters.
After a season-ending hip injury in his draft year, Comrie bounced back very nicely, posting a .925 in 60 WHL games last season. While those are gaudy numbers (.920+ SV%s are very rare in junior), he’s not a particularly good stickhandler and, more importantly, Comrie’s rebound control has been mentioned as an area for improvement in just about everything I’ve ever heard or read about him; no surprise, as it’s often the area young goaltenders struggle with the most. As with most goaltenders, Comrie is a long-term prospect, but he’s one with the potential to be an impact player in the NHL.
Related Links
2013 Top 25 Under 25 – Eric Comrie
That's Offside – CHL Goalies, Decision Making, and Hockey Canada's Failings
