Nico Daws on Development: 'A Long Process for a Goalie' | PROSPECT WATCH

At 22 and in just his second full season, Utica Comets goaltender Nico Daws' time in the Devils organization has already been quite eventful.
Most notable has been the 25 appearances with the big club due to injury and showing that he could manage the big stage when needed in urgent circumstances during those handful of callups.
Daws was selected in the third round (84th overall) of the delayed 2020 NHL Draft. He hadn't yet turned 20. Though there have been some injury callups of both him and teammate Akira Schmid this season, the situation is much more stable in goal in Newark. As a result, Daws has settled in with the Comets.
That is not to say there haven't been some twists and turns even this season. Like the Comets, Daws has had to battle through a tough stretch since earning a spot in the American Hockey League all-star game.
"My game has been just average lately," he explained after a recent loss in Toronto against the Marlies. "I'm trying to kick myself out of, not (being) sloppy but just lately I feel like I can't buy a bounce. I'm not getting results. Another loss is frustrating but my game is starting to trend in the right direction."

Daws was solid against the Marlies on Monday. Playing in Scotiabank Arena, home of the Leafs that he supported as a kid and in front of a holiday weekend crowd, Daws made 36 saves but was on a losing end of a 3-1 decision.
Though he made some outstanding saves to keep the Comets in the game, ultimately the difference was a pair of Toronto goals in the middle frame. Both were lasers, the first and eventual winner on the power play that went in just under the bar and over his right shoulder. The insurance marker a couple of minutes later was almost the exact same shot but over his left shoulder and at even strength.
After a long stretch that included the holiday season where the Comets were one of the American Hockey League's hottest teams, February has been ice cold for Utica and Daws has borne his share of rubber in the crease. Leading the AHL's North Division at one time, the Marlies now have a 20-point lead while the Comets are one of four teams separated by just three points after a 2-7-0-1 run in their last 10 games.
"That's happening to us a little bit lately. We are in a tight race in our division, these are games we got to try and get points but I think but if we keep playing like (lately) we'll be OK."
It was about a year ago when Daws gave the Devils perhaps it's best goaltending by any one netminder of the 2021-22 season. That came during a six-game stretch that straddled February and March 2022 where he started five times and posted at .925 SV%.
Due to the nature of how and why Daws was called into action, his NHL stats are a bit misleading, though the 10-11-1 record is nothing to sniff at for a guy who started his first NHL game before turning 21. His big-league GAA currently stands at 3.11 with a .893 SV%.
As admirable as Dawes's filling-in was at times last season, Devils fans need not be reminded of the injury issues in the crease. Both he and Schmid were never supposed to play as much as they ended up in the NHL last year. With Mackenzie Blackwood back to relatively good health, the acquisition of Vitek Vanecek, and Schmid generally being the first call-up as needed, Daws is now in a situation more in line with what was expected when the Devils drafted him.
Daws is aware that the early NHL exposure was an anomaly.
"It's a long process for a goalie," he said, "there is a lot of development that you have to do, and I have to put my (AHL) reps in."
The quick arrival in Newark is the most notable aspect of Daws time in the Devils organization but the journey to get there was also interesting. He wasn't even starting for his junior club, the Guelph Storm, until his final season. The Storm happened to have an older, capable goalie ahead of him who led the club to an Ontario Hockey League title in 2019, a talented squad that included current Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki.
After that season, Daws returned to his parent's home in a Toronto-area suburb and knew he was at a crossroads, needing to not only perform when he got the chance but to undergo a physical transformation that continues even now.
"I spent a lot of time on the bench that year," he explained of the season before the Devils picked him. "I kind of had to make a decision about what I wanted to do with my career. I had to go all in and it's got me (this far)."
At first, Daws dropped significant weight and now is working to build muscle mass that can maintain him throughout the season. To the naked eye and measuring 6-4 and a sliver under 205, he's visibly different in street clothes than even last season.
It's all part of the plan.
"The year I got drafted, I was a bit light, a bit fragile," he said. "I've been focusing is on putting on muscle and finding a weight that I can maintain throughout the season."
As for Schmid, who as of this writing was back up with the Devils putting their crease competition on hold for the moment, he says the presence of another bright young goaltending prospect can only help them both.
"We get along really well off-ice, so that helps. We both want the net and we battle hard every day but we have really good chemistry and it's good for everybody."
To say nothing of getting Utica back to their winning ways.
"As a team, we need to continue to battle, it is so tight in our division and every point counts," he said.
"We need to have a mentality that we have to win every night. For me personally, (I need) to continue to build and trend in the right direction. You don't want to go into the playoffs on a downward trend."