The Next Great Chicago Goalie?
Many Chicago Blackhawks fans have adored the goaltending of the team over the decades. Many great names come to mind: Hall, Esposito, Belfour, Crawford, Fleury. Each one had their own quirks and different flavors of personality. For example, Glenn Hall would throw up before every game. His nerves, often got the best of him. Not wearing a mask will do that to a man. The fans knew of Ed Belfour's desire to win. He was as solid as you can get, despite not being drafted. Currently, the fans know of Marc Andre Fleury's affection for his posts. He thanks them often, after a shooter hits the post, resulting in a no-goal. Goalies are for sure picky, competitive and are often a different breed.
Marc Andre Fleury will not play in the net forever, his contract is only a 1 year contract ( with 7 million good reasons to play with the lowly Hawks). Hawks fans have watched with great anticipation, pondering who is going to take the reigns in the near future. Who can backstop and keep the Hawks in games and become the new number one? Kevin Lankinen played well this season and is currently on the IR. However, he had a hard time getting a win this season.
A goalie the Hawks fans should become familiar with is Drew Commesso. Selected in the second round (46th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. Currently he plays for Boston University. In 24 games, he is 12-8-3. He has a 2.48 Goals Against Average and a .915 save percentage. He only had one game with the USA Under 20 World Championships. Those who are aware of the Hawks prospects, were hoping that the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship would be Commesso's coming out party. In his lone start, he won a 3-2 over Slovakia. The Blackhawks' top goaltending prospect will now be one of three goaltenders on the United States squad. He was the Primary goaltender for the 2019-20 U.S. U18 Team and the 2018-19 U.S. U17 Team during his two years with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program, He posted the second-best GAA in U18 history (2.05) to go along with a .920 save percentage. Commesso went 5-1-0 in international competition with a 1.47 GAA and .941 save % in 2019-20. He helped Team USA win the U18 Five Nations tournament in November 2019 with wins in all three starts. He spent two years at St. Sebastian's, earning a 2.13 GAA and .918 save % as a sophomore following an impressive freshman campaign (1.77, .932). He is ranked second among North American goaltenders for the 2020 NHL Draft.
A lot of people aren't going to watch the Winter Olympics this year. NHL fans cant watch their favorite players representing their countries. The NHL decided not to participate this year. The games will have to resort to former NHL players, AHL players and Pro European players. However, the Hawks fans should watch the Men's Ice Hockey. Drew Commesso is a big reason why.
