Blackhawks goalie prospect Drew Commesso finding rhythm in AHL after brief taste of NHL

Drew Commesso's first Blackhawks start back in December ended in disaster after two promising periods, but he believes it has helped him longer-term.

"Ever since then, I've just felt really confident," Commesso said this past week. "My game has gotten a lot faster, and I feel like a much better goalie from it. I think my play recently displays that."

The Hawks' top goalie prospect, a 22-year-old Boston University product now halfway through his second season in Rockford, has indeed righted the ship after a rough start to the season.

Before making his first career NHL start Dec. 14 in New Jersey — allowing four goals (all in the third period) on 24 shots — he had gone 4-6-0 with an .879 save percentage in his first 10 AHL appearances of the season. Since then, he's 4-3-2 with a .925 save percentage in his last nine AHL appearances, including two shutouts. (Last season, he was 18-16-4 with a .906 save percentage.)

"Up there, everything happens faster, and me realizing that has allowed me to play a little bit quicker down here," Commesso added. "It allows me to read the play better and be a little bit ahead of pucks. If you watch my games recently, I feel like I'm doing a good job of beating plays instead of meeting them."

Said Rockford interim coach Mark Eaton: "When he's on, it's very noticeable. He makes every save look like an easy one, even though they're not."

Commesso is a very intelligent guy who is always innovating his approach to hockey, both on- and off-ice. Last season, he added meditation to his pregame routine, and he believes that slows things down and helps him focus solely on what he can control.

Because he's so smart and creative, however, Commesso found early this season he was arguably trying to do too much simultaneously, and that was over-complicating his game. Rockford goalie coach Matt Smith helped him settle down.

"When you have goalies that are super intelligent, they have a tendency to understand the game at a different level," Smith said. "But we have to get from Point A to Point B first, before we go to Point C. Sometimes they want to go right to Point C. It has really helped him to narrow his focus on one or two things at a time."

Smith's key fix to Commesso's on-ice movement involved getting him set in his stance (with his knees bent) and square to the puck earlier than he had been.

"The earlier he can get set, the more he can let his mind play the game and digest what's in front of him," Smith said. "[That] allows him to use what we think is one of his strengths: reading the play."

A second, more nuanced change they made related to Commesso's side-to-side movement in the crease.

Previously, Commesso would shift his weight before pushing over, which made the whole motion take longer and also caused his head to briefly swing in the opposite direction at first. Smith has taught him to shift his weight as he pushes and also to drive his head through the movement, following side-to-side passes more aggressively.

"I know I have the physical tools — and I'll keep working on them — but the mentality of getting there quicker has been really big for me," Commesso said. "If you look at my game now compared to two months ago, you'll find pretty big differences."

Note: Hawks goalie prospect Adam Gajan is having a rougher season. A freshman at Minnesota-Duluth, Gajan posted an .882 save percentage in 12 games and has now been sidelined since November due to injury. He'll likely need several years of college hockey before turning pro.