Pro-Reads with Eric Comrie: Facing Down Jack Eichel
With Eric Comrie
How being set and square allows Comrie to have patience on shot from one of the game's best
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Eric Comrie is coming off one of the toughest situations an NHL goalie can face: his start against the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 29 was his first appearance since Dec. 10 against the Vancouver Canucks way back on Dec. 10, a gap between games of more than seven weeks.
That’s not easy for anyone, let alone a goalie in his first full NHL season, but Comrie handled it admirably, stopping 28 of 29 in a 4-1 road win against the St. Louis Blues. As Comrie said afterwards, it’s a testament to his work with goaltending coach Wade Flaherty to stay prepared, and we’re guessing from his webinar appearance with us and overview of Sense Arena last year that some virtual reality goaltending at home probably didn’t hurt either.
It was also a good reminder we still had Pro Reads footage left over from a length video session with Comrie last season, and while it features saves from his brief stint with the New Jersey Devils, we didn’t want to waste any of these breakdowns before we catch up with Comrie again to review some updated Jets video from this season. His insights are too good to waste.
THE SCENARIO
In some ways, this sequence plays into Comrie’s recent success after so much time between starts because this was his only NHL game all last season, it came almost a month into the season after getting claimed on waivers, and the other four games he got to play in the AHL last season didn’t happen until almost two months later. So, after no game action, here’s one of the top scorers in the world, Jack Eichel cutting into the zone on a solo rush. Have fun with that:
As Eichel, who had speed coming across the blue line, gets around the back-checking forward near the top of the right face-off circle above, what information are you looking for?
If the Devils defenseman still between him and the net in position to make a play? Do Eichel’s hands appear set to shoot? What do you make of Comrie’s positioning at this point?
As Eichel shoots in the second freeze frame above, what changes in Comrie do you notice?
THE SAVE
It’s a quick clip, but take a look at the entire sequence and see if you can spot it?
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- Eric Comrie breaks down his save on a Jack Eichel solo rush — his first NHL game action after a lengthy stint without starts, facing one of the league's top scorers on a one-man rush into the zone.
- Comrie identifies two critical reads as Eichel crosses the blue line: whether the Devils defenseman remains in position to force a play, and whether Eichel's hands signal an imminent shot.
- Managing depth during a solo rush is central to Comrie's breakdown, as he explains how he balances challenging the shooter against leaving himself vulnerable to a cut or deke.
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