The Utica Comets are the American Hockey League affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, and the parent club of the Adirondack Thunder of the ECHL.
The slogan for the Utica Comets heading into this season is “a new era begins”, and this era is off to the best start anyone could have hoped for.
It seems as though everything is new about the Comets. From 2013 until last season, they were the AHL affiliate, or “farm club” if you will, of the Vancouver Canucks. In 2013, the Comets were brand new, as a group led by former NHL goaltender Robert Esche who bought the Peoria Rivermen and moved them to Utica. Along with the new franchise came an affiliation with the Canucks, and Utica was ready to set up shop in the American Hockey League.
Well, almost.
The arena that the Comets were to call home, the Utica Memorial Auditorium, was not up to AHL’s standards. Constructed in 1959, the building was showing its age and in desperate need of an upgrade. It had been the home to the Utica Devils, which was Utica’s first AHL franchise from 1987-1993, but it was no longer adequate. With the promise of a new AHL franchise coming to town, Esche’s group was able to secure millions of dollars in funding, and “the Aud”, as it was known to locals, was transformed into a state-of-the-art facility. It would also become known as the Adirondack Bank Center as a result of a naming rights agreement with the regional bank.
In sports, franchises move – it’s part of the business. This season, the Vancouver Canucks moved their AHL franchise to Abbotsford, British Columbia to no doubt bring them closer to home. To fill the void, the New Jersey Devils moved their AHL franchise to Utica. The blue and green that once adorned the walls of the Adirondack Bank Center are now red and black, the same for the uniforms. A new era has indeed begun.
The 2021-22 Utica Comets are off to a 3-0-0-0 start and sit atop of the AHL North Division. Head Coach Kevin Dineen has his team playing with grit and swagger- much like his playing days. Offensively, they are led by rookie sensation Alexander Holtz. The nineteen-year-old native of Sweden has amassed three goals on fifteen shots, and so far looks very worthy of being the seven overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Defenseman Reilly Walsh paces the Comets with four assists. Alternate Captain Brian Flynn has contributed two goals and an assist, with Aarne Talvitie also lighting the lamp twice – one of which was the game-winning goal in overtime against the Providence Bruins.
Along with Walsh, the Comets defense corps is led by Robbie Russo and Tyler Wotherspoon. Although he has yet to score a point, Russo’s veteran leadership on a young Comets blue line is immeasurable, as this season is his seventh in the American Hockey League. Wotherspoon has played parts of four seasons for the Calgary Flames and brings NHL experience to mentor the team young defensemen.
Grit, physicality, and energy look like they will be a calling card of the Utica Comets this season, and it comes in the form of Kevin Bahl, Nolan Foote, and Joe Gambardella, among others. At six feet, six inches tall, and 230 pounds, Bahl uses his size to impose a physical presence all over the ice. Foote, who was acquired by the Devils in the Blake Coleman trade, is a relentless “puck hound” who will not shy away from physical play. Gambardella who played in the 2019 AHL All-Star Game as a member of the Bakersfield Condors, provides constant energy for the Comets and is part of the team’s leadership group as an Alternate Captain.
The backbone of this Utica Comets team so far in this short season has been solid goaltending. Nico Daws began the season as the team’s starter and secured a 6-2 opening game win against the Rochester Americans. Daws was recalled to the Devils in the wake of their goaltending injuries (and won his NHL debut as well), so the Comets turned to Akira Schmid. Since taking over as the starter, Schmid has been incredible. Going into Friday night, his record is 2-0-0-0 with a sparkling 0.97 GAA and .966 save percentage. The Utica Comets currently possess as solid a goaltending tandem as any in the AHL right now.
The team will twelve games in the month of November, with six at home and six on the road.