Drew Commesso

Drew Commesso's path to professional hockey began not in a crease, but on the ice as a forward. Playing for his town team and a local club team growing up in Norwell, Massachusetts, Commesso stepped in to fill a goaltending gap when his club team found itself short — and never looked back. As he recalled on InGoal Radio ^[1], the moment he got his first set of pads and a helmet, he wanted to stick with it. The equipment itself was part of the pull: "The helmets were, like, so so cool to me, and I really wanted to have my own, like, unique one that was awesome."

That early draw to the position grew alongside a deep fandom for the Boston Bruins. Commesso's family had season tickets approximately three rows behind the net, giving him a close-up perspective on two goalies who would shape how he thought about the position. Tim Thomas was the first goalie he fell in love with watching — he had Thomas's street hockey pads and wanted to dress like him off the ice. As he got a bit older, around age ten or eleven, Tuukka Rask became the first goalie he studied rather than simply admired. "Those two guys were had a big influence on me because I was a huge Bruins fan growing up," Commesso said ^[1], "and I was pretty spoiled with two great goaltenders who had, you know, kind of polar opposite styles."

Born July 19, 2002, Commesso is 6'2" and 180 pounds, and catches left. The Chicago Blackhawks selected him in the second round, 15th pick of that round, in the 2020 NHL Draft. He trained with the U.S. National Team Development Program before going on to play at Boston University, where he also represented the United States at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. He got the start in Team USA's opening game against China, and the experience left a lasting impression. "I think that was probably the most fun I've ever had playing hockey," he said ^[1]. He also recounted a moment during the opening ceremonies — walking with teammates Matthew Nyes and Brock Faber, he accidentally bumped into someone's shoulder and turned to find it was Shaun White.

Commesso wears jersey number 33 for the Blackhawks. Through the 2025-26 season, he has appeared in 3 NHL games, going 2-1 with a 2.31 goals-against average, a .918 save percentage, and 1 shutout. Across his NHL career to date, he has played 5 games, going 2-2 with a 2.61 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and 1 shutout.

He has spent much of his professional development with the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League, working closely with goaltending coach Matt Smith. On the coaching influences that have shaped his game, Commesso traces a long line: Brian Eklund, his hometown goalie coach since around age eight or nine, who is now with the New Jersey Devils organization; Thomas Speer at the USNTDP, now with the San Jose Sharks; Brian Daccord at Boston University; and Smith in the Blackhawks system, alongside Jimmy Waite in Chicago ^[1]. Of Smith, Commesso said: "the best thing about him is he can recognize things about my game that I don't even recognize."

When asked to describe his own game, Commesso pointed to the mental side and his reads of play as the foundation. "I like to think I'm, like, very calm and efficient," he said ^[1]. "Like, don't like a lot of extra movements, and, like, rarely will I make, like, you know, a sports center play." He added that limiting those moments and "making the flashy save an easy one" has been a focus.

Off the ice, Commesso is a self-described gear enthusiast and a Bauer athlete who has been with the company since his time at the USNTDP. A notable quirk: he wears Marucci baseball gloves underneath his catching glove, a habit he picked up in his first year of professional hockey to keep his gloves feeling tightly connected to his hands ^[1]. He credits baseball — one of several sports he played growing up alongside soccer, lacrosse, and golf — with helping develop his catching hand as a young goalie.

InGoal Magazine has covered Drew Commesso in one podcast appearance.