Comrie is a keeper

Bill Comrie’s son Eric is only 16 and still getting his feet wet in the Western Hockey League as the TriCity Americans backup goalie, but his junior general manager Bob Tory says Mike and Paul’s brother “will be a first-round (NHL) pick. He’s as good as Carey Price was at the same age when he was with us in Tri-city, maybe not as good as Dan Blackburn when we had him in Kootenay.”

Eric, who has played 21 games (He’s 15-4, with three shutouts and a 2.60 goals-against average.) watched the thrilling Tri-city versus Edmonton Oil Kings game from the bench on Wednesday while fellow Edmonton native Ty Rimmer got the start. He’d love to have played with his dad in the house at Rexall Place, coming up from the family home, now in Newport Beach, Calif., but Eric, who spent the first eight years of his life here, knows his place. He’s a WHL rookie and Rimmer is 19.

It’s odd that he’s a goalie. His dad was a forward. His brother Fred was a forward. His injured brother Mike, and Paul, who suffered a nasty concussion while an Edmonton Oilers prospect which forced him from the game, were forwards. Eric’s little brother Ty is also a forward.

“Only one goalie per family,” Eric said, laughing.

“My older brothers needed somebody to shoot on, so they stuck me in the net. And I always wanted to block shots when I was playing defence,” said Eric, who would be on the backyard rink or in the basement with the brothers firing away.

“It’s a quite a position, playing goal. You’re either a hero or a goat every given night. I love the pressure.”

While most of the Comries are short, Eric is already six-feet and growing. He was a huge Price fan, even before he joined Tri-city.

He wasn’t sure if he’d go the junior or college route.

“A really tough decision for me. Mike went to college (the University of Michigan) and Paul went to Denver, and they both told me how much fun it was, but I thought coming to the Western League would be better for my development,” he said.

He’ll play way more games — not in his first year, but likely next year, depending on whether Rimmer, who’s one of the WHL’S best, returns.

“I knew lots of WHL teams were uncomfortable taking Eric in the bantam draft because of the college option,” said Tory, who had to do some major manoeuvring to get ahead of some teams to pick him even when he wasn’t completely sure Comrie would come. “We’re set now for three years.”