The Comets crashed short of the playoffs, but avoid the basement, finishing sixth in the North Division. So, there’s that.
It’s official. The Utica Comets will miss the post-season. The Devils AHL affiliate ended their year on Sunday with a 3-2 loss to the Rochester Americans after blowing a third period lead by giving up two goals in the final frame. It was a fitting end to a disappointing season on the ice.
First, the excuses. Erik Kallgren failed to stopgap the starting role when Nico Daws was recovering from surgery and Akira Schmid was with the big club, falling out of the picture after posting a .872 SV% and a 3.62 GAA and forcing an overuse of Isaac Poulter. More on him below. The Comets also suffered from a number of prospect graduations and trades and a depletion of their roster for call-ups when New Jersey got hit with the injury bug.
However, not all is doom and gloom. Next season, help is coming by way of scoring winger Josh Filmon and defenseman Mikael Diotte, who recently won the Kevin Lowe Trophy for best defensive defenseman in the QMJHL during a season in which he broke out with 42 points in 59 games. Both players are still in the midst of the post-season for their Juniors clubs, which I plan on updating next week.
Given the sparse number of prospects still in Utica this season, rather than a wall of stats, let’s talk about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of this season’s Utica Comets. However, for those who want to check out Utica’s final wall of stats, you may do so here.
The Good
Isaac Poulter broke out in a big way this season, so much so that he earned his ELC and even spent some time sitting on the Devils bench as a backup. The 22-year-old netminder finished the season with a 17-8-1 record, 2.55 GAA and a .911 SV%. Upon the return of Nico Daws and Akira Schmid to the Comets, Poulter spent some time with Adirondack, posting a perfect 5-0-0 record, 2.44 GAA and .917 SV%. All in all, it was a fantastic year and unlike most of the Comets, Poulter’s season is not over. He has been the starter for Adirondack in their first two playoff games, earning a 1-1 record, 1.02 GA and a sparkling .952 SV%
On offense, Graeme Clarke reached the 25 goal milestone in the final game of the season, ending the year squared at 25 goals, 25 assists. Brian Halonen putting up 20 goals in only 35 games is also quite spectacular. However, it is unclear how, if at all, either of these players fit in with the Devils future plans.
The Bad
The lack of productive prospects on the Comets this season is concerning, but not all that surprising considering the lack of elite ones left after the graduation of Simon Nemec. After Graeme Clarke, the next highest scoring prospect was a tie between the aforementioned Brian Halonen and defenseman Topias Vilen, both with 29 points. Vilen’s output is encouraging; however, as the 21-year-old defensive defenseman is proving once again that he can be more than a one dimensional player should he reach his potential.
Next season will hopefully see more of a breakout from Chase Stillman, who had a decent, if unspectacular season, adjusting to the pro game, finishing with 14 goals and 10 assists in 54 contests. I do believe Stillman has the skillset to develop into an effective bottom six winger, who provides some of that intangible sandpaper that teams need, but cannot be measured by analytics. For the Ken Daneyko’s who may be reading, here is one of Stillman’s “highlights” from this month.
Matteo Pietroniro and Chase Stillman drop the gloves. It’s a pretty decent tilt. pic.twitter.com/l2oHqZwusG
— Nick Barden (@nickbarden) April 6, 2024
The Ugly
That was the combined save percentage for all Comets goalies playing at least ten games who were not named Isaac Poulter. As with the big club, goaltending was a systemic problem this season that trickled down to the AHL affiliate. Still, there is reason to be hopeful. The Erik Kallgren experiment is over and Nico Daws and Akira Schmid both played better down the stretch, Next season’s plan seems to be to start both of them on the Comets with Isaac Poulter in the wings, so the goaltending should stabalize.
Final Thoughts
The Comets had a rough season. It is likely time to cut bait with some of the veterans on the time as new blood comes in via Josh Filmon and Mikael Diotte as well as any other prospects Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald may sign this summer. With eight RFAs and five UFAs amongst those Comets who count towards the fifty contracts a team may have at any given time, there is a good opportunity to do so.
Now it is time to tell us what you think. Post your comments below. As always, thanks for reading.