Eric Comrie
Eric Comrie | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 6, 1995 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada |
| Occupation | Ice hockey goaltender |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Known for | Playing for the Winnipeg Jets in the NHL |
Eric Comrie (born July 6, 1995) is a Canadian ice hockey goaltender currently playing for the Winnipeg Jets in the National Hockey League (NHL). The Jets selected him in the second round, 59th overall, during the 2013 NHL entry draft.
Amateur
Originally from Edmonton, Alberta, Comrie relocated to Newport Beach, California when he was nine years old. He developed his early hockey skills with the LA Selects in the Tier 1 Elite Hockey League and took part in the 2008 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. In the 2010 WHL bantam draft, he was chosen 13th overall by the Tri-City Americans. During the 2010–11 season, he recorded a .940 save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.34 across 19 games with their U16 squad.
Comrie made his first appearance in the WHL on April 10, 2011, and went on to play 31 games in his rookie season (2011–12), posting a .900 save percentage. The following year, he showed improvement but suffered a hip injury after participating in 37 games during the 2012–13 campaign. Ranked as the second-best North American goaltender by NHL Central Scouting, he was drafted by Winnipeg at 59th overall. In the 2013–14 season, Comrie led the WHL with a .925 save percentage and earned selection to the WHL (West) Second All-Star Team.
Professional
The Jets signed Comrie to a three-year entry-level contract on December 24, 2013. After finishing the 2013–14 WHL season, he joined Winnipeg’s AHL affiliate, the St. John's IceCaps, where he appeared in two games without recording a win. Following the 2014–15 WHL season, he returned to St. John's and posted a 2–1–0 record over three contests.
Beginning with the 2015–16 season, Comrie became a full-time AHL player as the IceCaps franchise relocated and rebranded as the Manitoba Moose. In his initial full professional year, he compiled a 13–25–7 record and improved slightly to an 18–25–2 record during the 2016–17 season.
Comrie received a recall from the Jets on April 5, 2017, making his NHL debut one day later by stopping 35 shots in a 5–4 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
On September 7, 2019, Comrie agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $1.4 million with Winnipeg. Shortly after, on September 30, he was placed on waivers and subsequently claimed by the Arizona Coyotes on October 1. Although starting the season with Arizona, he did not appear in any games before being sent to their AHL affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners, for conditioning on November 9. On November 30, Comrie was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Vili Saarijärvi. In his first start for Detroit on December 10, he conceded five goals in a 5–1 defeat against his former team Winnipeg. Nine days later, on December 19, Comrie was reclaimed off waivers by the Jets.
Ahead of the delayed start of the 2020–21 NHL season, Winnipeg placed Comrie on waivers again; he was claimed by the New Jersey Devils on January 12, 2021. On February 18, he was reclaimed off waivers by Winnipeg and assigned to their taxi squad.
As an unrestricted free agent after leaving Winnipeg, Comrie signed a two-year deal valued at $3.6 million with the Buffalo Sabres on July 13, 2022.
After completing his contract with Buffalo, Comrie returned to Winnipeg for a third tenure by signing a two-year contract worth $1.65 million on July 1, 2024.
International play
During the 2012–13 season, Comrie represented Team Pacific at the World U-17 Hockey Challenge in 2012, where they finished fifth overall. He earned gold medals with Team Canada at both the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and at the 2015 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.
Personal life
Comrie is the son of Bill Comrie, who founded The Brick, and is the half-brother of ex-NHL athletes Paul and Mike Comrie. During the 2013–14 and 2014–15 seasons, he shared the ice with his younger brother Ty while playing for the Tri-City Americans. In July 2022, he wed his longtime partner Haley Hull, and they welcomed their daughter in November 2023.
Regular season and playoffs
... [table continues with similar formatting, omitted here for brevity] ...| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | OT | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 2010-11 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 | .929 | ||
| 2011–12 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 31 | 19 | 6 | 2 | 1663 | 74 | 3 | 2.67 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2012–13 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 37 | 20 | 14 | 3 | 2178 | 95 | 2 | 2.62 | .915 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
| 2013–14 | Tri-City Americans | WHL | 60 | 26 | 25 | 9 | 3523 | 151 | 4 | 2.57 | .924 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 295 | 17 | 0 | 3.46 | .917 | ||
| 2013–14 | St. John's IceCaps | AHL | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 113 | 12 | 0 | 6.35 | .829 | ||||||||||
| NHL totals | 77 | 33 | 36 | 3 | 4,321 | 221 | 4 | 3.11 | .898 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 1 | 0 | 1.40 | .923 | ||||