The AHL affiliate of the New Jersey Devils, the Utica Comets, saw their season come to an end on Sunday. The Comets dropped their season finale, 3-2, at the hands of the Rochester Americans. With the loss, Utica finished the season with a 32-29-5-6 record.
This is a record that placed them sixth in the North Division, five points outside a playoff spot. Based on points percentage, the Comets finished 21st in the league. After leading Utica to a playoff appearance two seasons in a row, head coach Kevin Dineen and his staff were unable to bring the Comets back to the postseason in 2023-24.
Forwards
The Comets’ offense finished 16th in goals per game and owned the 31st-ranked power play. Utica only had two 20-goal scorers and five 40-point contributors. Only one Comet was able to break the 50-point plateau.
Player Breakdowns
That one Utica player that was able to break the 50-point mark was the captain; Ryan Schmelzer. The undrafted free agent out of Canisius College is now 30 years old and has spent the last seven years within the organization. He shattered a career-high in assists (formerly 29) and points (formerly 35), posting 18 goals, 34 assists, and 52 points playing all 72 games this past season.
Elsewhere, prospects Graeme Clarke and Xavier Parent each put up nice seasons. Clarke was second on the Comets in scoring with 49 points (25 goals, a team-high) in 67 games. This coming a year after putting up 58 points and scoring at a point-per-game pace in the AHL playoffs. So, he did regress a bit when it came to point output, however, the Comets as a whole struggled to replicates last season’s success.
Despite that, according to AHL Tracker, his game score per game (GS/G) ranked second on the Comets (0.76) this past season. Of 192 forwards aged 22 or younger with at least 15 games played in the AHL in 2023-24, Clarke’s GS/G ranked 19th (of 192 qualified), the 90th percentile.
Meanwhile, Parent, in his first full AHL season, posted 45 points in 71 games. As a result, a three-year stretch where he posted a point-per-game-plus pace (27 points in 24 games during the 2020-21 season in the QMJHL, 106 points in 65 games during the 2021-22 season in the QMJHL, and 51 points in 50 games during the 2022-23 season in the ECHL) finally came to an end.
The highest point-per-game Comet this past season was Brian Halonen. After getting a late start to the season following recovery from a preseason injury, Halonen managed to skate in 35 games posting 20 goals and nine assists. Over a full 72-game AHL season, he would have been on pace for 41 goals. Halonen led all Comets skaters with a GS/G of 0.84. Among 662 AHL skaters who appeared in at least 30 games this past season, Halonen’s GS/G ranked 27th, good for the 96th percentile.
AHL veterans Kyle Criscuolo (42 points in 63 games), Justin Dowling (40 points in 57 games), and Max Willman (22 points in 33 games) all chipped in as well. Criscuolo finished fourth among Comets forwards in GS/G while Willman, in a smaller sample, trailed only Halonen and Clarke in GS/G.
Defenseman
The Comets’ defense gave up the 12th-most goals per game during the season. However, they excelled on the penalty kill, owning the sixth-best unit in the league. Utica did not take a lot of penalties, ranking 24th in penalty minutes.
Player Breakdowns
Robbie Russo (31 years old) and Tyler Wotherspoon (31 years old) largely served as the team’s top defensemen. The veteran duo, who each joined the team in 2021, posted the squad’s third and fifth highest GS/G, respectively, of the 12 defenseman that appeared in a game for the Comets this season. For whatever it is worth, Russo posted a plus-nine rating, the fourth-highest mark on the team and highest among defenseman.
Pacing the above duo in GS/G is intriguing prospect Topias Vilén. Vilén, only 21 years old, had 10 points in six ECHL games earlier in the year and has spent the rest of his time with Utica where he got some top-pair looks, posting 29 points in 54 games. His 0.43 GS/G ranks 19th among 85 AHL defenseman aged 23 or younger that have appeared in at least 20 games this season. He had a superb first full season in North America.
Elsewhere, Michael Vukojevic (who only played 49 games) ranked last among defenseman with a minus-10 rating and a GS/G of 0.12 which ranked toward the bottom of the AHL. Daniil Misyul, former third-round pick in 2019, appeared in 44 games, posting a GS/G of 0.18, slightly better than Vukojevic’s.
Goaltenders
The Comets had five different goalies appear in a game for the team this past season. Isaac Poulter led the team with 28 appearances and played by far the best of the group. The 22-year-old, who was awarded with a two-way contract during the season, posted a 0.911 save percentage with a 17-8-1 record and four shutouts. He is currently with ECHL Adirondack Thunder helping them in the Kelly Cup playoffs.
Erik Källgren was signed to help bring some AHL experience in between the pipes. However, the 27-year-old struggled mightily, posting an 0.872 save percentage across 16 appearances. Akira Schmid appeared in 23 games posting a 0.894 save percentage and Nico Daws in 10 games with a 0.890 save percentage.
Outside of Poulter, it was not a good season for the Comets’ goalies. Granted, the team’s defense took a large step back.
Final Thoughts
The Utica Comets had to battle a lot in 2023-24. It all stemmed from the injury struggles with the big club, expelling the Comets’ roster of a lot of their top talent. Despite this, Kevin Dineen and staff had the Comets in the thick of the playoff race up until the closing week.
The Comets performance will largely improve next year with the continued development of their younger players, injection of some more veteran talent via free agent, and the arrival of some drafted talent who continue to age.