WINNIPEG — Eric Comrie left the Winnipeg Jets two seasons ago in search of an opportunity — a starter, in an ideal world, or a timeshare if he didn’t make it.

A torn MCL, a groin strain and just 29 NHL games later, it’s safe to say things didn’t work out the way Comrie wanted. His two-year audition in Buffalo was intended to get him into a larger role. Instead, when Comrie answered his agent’s call in the middle of practice on July 1, it was about fighting for a backup job in Winnipeg – the place where he had played the best hockey of his career.

Comrie spoke with on Friday The athlete Shortly before it was announced that Colorado claimed Kaapo Kahkonen off waivers, he effectively guaranteed Comrie the backup role in which he had excelled before signing with the Sabres.

“It’s still a job I have to earn every day,” Comrie said. “I have to make sure I work for it every day. Just because I have it now doesn’t mean I automatically keep it. You have to perform and be successful every day and make sure you earn that spot every day.”

Kahkonen’s departure leaves the Jets with a clear No. 1 – Connor Hellebuyck – and Comrie at the No. 2 position. The Jets could be forced into a follow-on move, potentially adding a goalie to complement the youth of Thomas Milic, 21, and Domenic DiVincentiis, 20 to isolate in the AHL. I believe that Winnipeg would prefer to support Milic with an experienced AHL goaltender who would give DiVincentiis the opportunity to earn a high number of starts for ECHL Norfolk.

Comrie has played 214 AHL games, including four last season, and was picked by many observers as the odd man out of the Jets’ net at the start of training camp. While Comrie is Manitoba’s all-time leader in games played (203) and wins (86), Kahkonen has played more NHL games than Comrie and posted a superior save percentage in 139 starts. Kahkonen also played more minutes in the preseason than Comrie, but when it came time to choose a replacement for Game 1 against Edmonton, the Jets chose Comrie for the role.

Comrie says he welcomes the fight for a job.

“Competition brings out the best in you,” Comrie said. “You don’t want to just get anything. You want to earn everything in life. I think that’s a good way to look at it. When you come here with three people, I think you want to go out there and do your best every day. It drives you. It makes you better. It pushes you forward as an individual and as a team, so I think it was a good thing for me.”

Comrie’s path to the NHL depended on his ability to outscore all competition. As a teenager, he skated 364 days out of 365 and gave himself a single day off at Christmas. As Jet and Moose, he was known for being the first player on the ice and the last off it, and was the last player off the ice before Friday’s interview. He manages the stress that comes with excellence by controlling the things he can control – most notably his work ethic.

When Comrie’s torn MCL derailed a strong start to his Sabers career, he was forced to play catch-up in a difficult situation. When Comrie returned to Buffalo in January 2023, it was like trying to jump on a speeding train. The mid-season pace had increased; Comrie scratched in a crowded corner of a workstation. He struggled with the Buffalos’ goaltending rotation and the resulting lack of playing time. That cycle didn’t repeat itself until he pulled his groin early last season.

“As a player it’s hard, but as a goalkeeper it’s even harder – especially when you have three or four goalkeepers at the same time and you can’t do as many repetitions in training,” Comrie said. “I’m a guy who likes a lot of work, and I couldn’t get that much work because we had a lot of people cycling through nets. It was harder for me to find that rhythm or that swagger.”

“Honestly, I’m working on it. I try to be a little more proud because… I believe in myself a lot, but I believe in the work that I do more than anything,” Comrie said. “I’m not the guy who can just show up and say, ‘I’m the best, I’m the greatest.’ I have to go out there and do the work I can do to feel comfortable. When I surpassed everyone I possibly could, I gave myself comfort. (With three goalies in Buffalo) I could never believe I did enough work.”

Comrie chose Winnipeg in part because he saw it as a place where he could return to his hard-working identity. In an effort to stay consistent, he changed his training this summer and rebuilt his stance.

“My coach and I really went through it all, turned some things around and got better at what we needed to improve on. I’m very confident in what I have right now, what I’ve done and where I’m at in my body,” he said. “I put more pressure on my hips and groin and that caused me to hurt myself a little more than I should have – instead of being in my core, in my legs and letting the big muscles do the work. ”

The other reason Comrie decided to return to Winnipeg is because so many of his best friends are Jets players. He was close with Josh Morrissey for most of his life. Mark Scheifele officiated his wedding. Hellebuyck is a close friend who has both an agent and a training coach. For Comrie, these are significant personal and professional benefits – benefits that he believes contribute directly to his performance.

“Every time I go to a new team I’m a little nervous. You have a little extra fear. It can stop you a little bit from doing your best because you’re trying to do the best you can and then you get a little stuck. You have to get to know people. You don’t know their names. They don’t know their tendencies. They don’t know what they’re doing,” Comrie said.

“A lot of people just have that swagger to get to know people. I feel more comfortable around people I know better. Every person is different. That’s just who I am.”

(Photo by Eric Comrie and Connor Hellebuyck: Andy Devlin / NHLI via Getty Images)