Utica Comets: Round 1 preview

The Utica Comets begin their quest for the AHL Calder Cup this Saturday.

After failing to make the playoffs last season, the Comets finished 4thin the North Division to set up a first-round matchup against the Toronto Marlies. In 8 meetings with the Maple Leafs affiliate, the Comets were 3-4-1 with the majority of the games being close battles through the entire game.
But this Comets team is much different from the one that started the year. Given all the injuries with the Canucks, quite a few of the Comets top players saw long periods away from the lineup. Not to mention their own injuries. It forced the lines to be mixed on a daily basis while inserting players on professional tryouts.
That isn't the only thing that has changed the makeup of this team heading into the playoffs, it's also the insertion of multiple top prospects from the Canucks organizations as their respective seasons ended. Over the past few weeks, the Comets have added a few players who are already making an impact and thus are of particular interest in Vancouver.
First was 2015 6thround pick Lukas Jasek, who was making his way over after completing a forty eight-game regular season and ten playoff game campaign with Bili Tygiri Liberec in the Czech Extraliga. Since joining the team in late March, Jasek has posted seven points in six games. He's been impressive in his abilities to capitalize on his chances, generate shots, and protect the puck in the corners and along the boards.
Shortly after that, 2017 2ndround pick Kole Lind made the leap to professional hockey. Days after losing out in the first round of the WHL playoffs, Kole signed an amateur try out with the Comets to get his feet wet at the next level. Although he has been held to one assist in six games in the AHL, he is appearing to grow more confident with each passing shift. Lind will almost certainly start the season with the Comets next season, so getting these games to close out the year are about maturing his game and understanding what is expected. If he can remain in the lineup and be noticeable, it's just icing on the cake.
The last Canucks prospect to join Utica recently is Jonathan Dahlen. Acquired last season in a trade with the Ottawa Senators, there is a lot of excitement surrounding the young Swede. Dahlen had been loaned to Timra IK in the Allsvenskan earlier this season to ensure that he was getting a chance to be an offensive leader. He remained there for the duration of the season with the hopes of taking the tier two team all the way to the finals and earning a promotion of the SHL via a playoff round.
He was dominant during the season and throughout the entire playoffs as he helped Timra IK storm back from a 3-1 series deficit to win their way up to the SHL. Dahlen took a couple days off before making his way to upstate to New York and has picked up right where he left off. The 2016 2ndround pick was held off the scoresheet in first AHL contest but had flashes that indicated that with a little luck, he would've found the back of the net. It didn't take long for him to get rewarded for his efforts as he followed that contest up with one goal and one assist in the Comets regular-season finale.
These three additions have added depth to the Comets lineup and have certainly piqued the interest of Canucks fans. But the success of the Canucks affiliate won't rest on the shoulders of these three as there were some other Canucks prospects who have been carrying the load and will look to keep doing so in the postseason.
Goaltender Thatcher Demko finished the year with the 6thbest goals against average en route to setting the Comets record for the most wins in a season (25) and most career wins (47). The San Diego native was particularly strong throughout March with two noteworthy performances against the Marlies, where he limited them to one and two goals respectively.
Michael Carcone, Zack MacEwen, Guillaume Brisebois, and Jalen Chatfield were leaned on heavily at times during the season and all showed well. The addition of the three aforementioned players, and others like Tyler Motte and Nikolay Goldobin, will only help those four to hit the ground running in their first professional hockey playoffs.
As with any playoff series, anything can happen. The Marlies are favoured to move on and like the Comets, have added some prospects from their parent club over the past couple of weeks. But the games between the two clubs were close and competitive with a goal or two more for the Comets, it could've easily painted a different picture on the matchup.
For Canucks fans, it's exciting times to see so many prospects playing down on the farm at this time of year. No matter who the lines are drawn up, the Comets will be led by players that Canucks fans hope will be playing in Vancouver in the near future.
Until then - everyone will be keeping a close eye to see if the Comets can take down the Marlies and take the next step towards the first Calder Cup in franchise history.