Komisarek assumes his role on Hurricanes blue line

Chris Baird - TSN via Baird Photography
Chris Baird – TSN via Baird Photography

RALEIGH, N.C. – You can best understand how effective a true defensive-style defenseman is by watching him play the game.

For Carolina Hurricanes veteran blueliner Mike Komisarek, getting the opportunity to earn game time this season has been a sporadic occurrence, but one that has become more of a constant lately.

That was the plan according to Carolina head coach Kirk Muller.

It was expected that when the Hurricanes signed the 11-year veteran to a one-year deal, he would have the time and opportunity to prove that he could contribute effectively to the team’s efforts in earning a playoff spot.

“Last year he didn’t play much,” Muller said.

“He came in with a great mindset. He’s in great shape. He trains every day so hard with Roddy (Brind’Amour). We said at the beginning of the year, ‘this is not a quick fix, but confidence-wise and workin’ with you, you just gotta’ hang in there’. It just happens that, if you look at the beginning of the year, he was slotted as a sixth, seventh kinda’ guy and the way our D have unfolded, it’s sorta’ how we pictured it at the start.”

Coming into training camp with a positive outlook and understanding that he only needed to play his style of game – a simple one that includes moving the puck forward, being physical, blocking shots, and standing up for his teammates – Komisarek has finally earned the opportunity to make his contributions at a critical time of the season.

“First and foremost, you’re always grateful for the opportunity,” Komisarek said.

“You want to take advantage of any opportunity that comes your way. Secondly, you want to be contributing on a nightly basis. You want to be pullin’ the rope just as hard as all of the other guys. You want to be bringin’ something to the table, makin’ positive contributions every night.”

The numbers show some tangibles that Komisarek, 32, has contributed as part of the Hurricanes’ recent swing that has resulted in the team winning eight of its last 11 games.

He’s played in five of those games keeping an even plus-minus rating while managing to place four shots on net and recording his first point of the season, an assist, in Carolina’s recent 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres.

Keep in mind, Komisarek is not expected to score, so not seeing high scoring totals under his name is not surprising.

He’s expected to be part of a defensive corps that puts the team in a position to win, and to ensure that less pucks enter the Hurricanes’ net while helping his team to move the puck up the ice to score more at the other end of the rink.

“It’s nothing flashy,” Komisarek said.

“Keep it simple – be tough to play against, taking care of my own end.”

In the 17 games he’s played in overall to date, being a healthy scratch for 28 and on injured reserve for the other five, Carolina has won eight of them.

Komisarek currently sits with a minus-two rating overall, has averaged just under 12 minutes of playing time (11:55), and has dished out two to three hits per game, while getting his body or stick in front of opposing teams’ attempted shots on net at least once per game.

For now, it seems that he has found the groove and consistency he’s strived for since he arrived in Raleigh, and he is providing the veteran presence and experience that his coach and team needs as it makes its hard push to earn a playoff spot.

“Whether you’re in and out of the lineup, you’re always trying to find a way to bring something to the team – something positive, something to build off of, some kind of energy, positive vibes,” Komisarek said.

“Through the ups and downs, comin’ in and out of the lineup, I think the one constant is that you come to the rink ready to work and ready to compete. Everything else takes care of itself.”