An NCAA product who opted out of the 2000 draft (and improved his CSB ranking from 39th in North America in 2000 to 5th in 2001), Komisarek played two years at the University of Michigan totalling 46 points in 80 games, including a 30-point final season in which he was named to both the CCHA First All Star Team and the NCAA First All American Team as well as being named the CCHA’s best defensive defenseman. He also has experience with the US National Junior program, having played in 51 games during the 99-00 season as well as competing in the World Junior Championships in 2001-2002.
The first thing one has to notice about Mike Komisarek is his size. While he isn’t the tallest player on the Bulldogs (that honour goes to 6’6″ Alexei Semenov), the West Islip, NY native is certainly the largest, combining a height of 6’4″ and a weight of 240 lbs.
A first-year pro of that size is bound to draw attention and even more so when they come out of university with the kind of hockey credentials Komisarek did, but all the attention in the hockey world counts for naught if the player falters under the scrutiny. As with any first-round selection, there was a great deal of pressure on the big defenseman going into the Montreal Canadiens training camp this past September and he did not disappoint, surviving several rounds of AHL demotions, ending up as one of the team’s final cuts before their 23-man roster was finalized.
The only rookie to outlast Komisarek was current Bulldogs team mate Ron Hainsey. One indication of how the Canadiens management and coaching staff feel about Komisarek is that he was given Mark Recchi’s old sweater number eight while with the Canadiens, while other rookies were given training camp numbers like 65 (Hainsey) and 75 (Balej).
Offensively, Komisarek has been the leader of the Hamilton blueline corps with a goal and nine assists in 21 games, but perhaps the best attribute he brings to this team is his crisp passing — with Ales Pisa now playing in the NHL, the Bulldogs lost their best outlet passer, but Komisarek has taken up the slack without missing a beat. His work on the power play, getting that first pass into the neutral zone, has been excellent, and this ability has also improved the team’s transition game as was evident in the recent 5-0 victory over the St. John’s Maple Leafs.
While his shot has only found the back of the net once, he is able to at least put it on net consistently to create rebound chances, unlike his usual defence partner Marc-André Bergeron, his passing skills and his smooth skating will more than compensate for any goal-scoring deficiencies in his game.
Though he is very aware of developing plays and sees things well enough to keep the momentum of a game going, he does at times focus too much on the offensive possibilities of a play and start watching the puck in the offensive zone while losing track of opposition forwards playing at the blueline. Several times over recent games, he has been caught watching the play in this manner and has been caught standing still at the line when the opposing forward gets the puck and takes off down the ice, getting a two-on-one while Komisarek does his best to catch up.
To his credit, he does have the skating ability to catch up, but for a former CCHA Defensive Defenseman of the year, these errors are both surprising and disappointing. Another area in which Komisarek needs to improve is consistency — not offensive consistency, but physical consistency. In the Bulldogs’ worst losses of the season, many of the goals can be attributed to the defensemen not keeping the front of the net clear of opposition forwards.
While this is not a job for Komisarek alone, as the biggest defenseman on the team, he should be acting as a one-man wrecking ball in front of Garon, Conklin, Fichaud, Antila, or whichever member of the Bulldogs unwieldy goaltending committee is in net. Similarly, while his physical work along the boards has been above average, it also suffers consistency problems. This is, most likely, due to inexperience at the pro level and playing against many players who have several years of pro experience — some of whom have several years of NHL experience. Komisarek certainly has the size and strength to be a force along the boards and in front of the Hamilton goal, but thus far, the force is only showing up about sixty percent of the time.
Going into training camp, many fans were predicting that Komisarek would be playing in Montreal’s top four on opening night and never set foot on an AHL rink. As I have stated many times, I’m a firm believer in the farm system and I don’t believe any player should make the jump from junior or university straight to the NHL and I said at the time that I felt Komisarek needed AHL ice-time to elevate his game to a professional level.
That belief remains unchanged. While I have no doubt that Komisarek will play in the NHL one day, he is at least another season, perhaps two away from being ready for the big league. Montreal fans should realise that this is not necessarily a bad thing — as his skills and decision-making improve in the AHL, so too will his confidence, and when he finally makes the jump to the Canadiens, he’ll be a far more complete player.
Strengths: passing, skating, shot from blueline.
Weaknesses: consistent physical play, watches the puck too frequently.
Projection: number 3 or 4 physical defenseman, 20-25 points per season.
