There were five goaltenders at Philadelphia Wings camp vying for a spot on the roster. The Wings have two goaltenders already on their roster. And that’s not even counting Scott Komer, who will be at training camp in early December.
“I’m excited to get a chance to play with Philly.” he told me. “I like the size of the D and the way they organize their defense– I figure any goalie would be pumped to play here.”
Komer has battled concussions throughout the 2012 year. He made the Reading Rockets roster this fall but was shelved quickly.
“I only played 2 minutes in the PLL before I was run and my brain bounced violently off of the inside of my skull.” he said, describing his concussion. “So I suppose it prepared me for the NLL by giving me a chance to sit quietly in the dark for a month. Truthfully, spending so much time around Philadelphia (being signed with Reading) has made me get the lay of the land, and appreciate the city. Not to mention making new friends in the area, and mastering the commute down there.”
He says the concussion is healing, with minimal side affects. “I’m telekinetic now! I can blow-up people’s heads with my thoughts!” he joked. “No, I wish. I can’t say that I’ve had any lingering affects with the concussions. I had my first one ever last February… but then had a great season with Owen Sound in the summer, where I logged over a thousand minutes with no issues. I also play hockey 3 times a week. When I received this second one in September I didn’t actually have the full picture of how it went down, and I was scared that it was a harmless play and that maybe I was prone to them…. until I saw the game tape of the incident. The play was so much faster and more violent than I initially thought. And my head not only made contact with the opposing player’s shoulder, but bounced of the crossbar as well. I actually can’t believe I didn’t get knocked out or anything. Its just something evil about 2012.”
Komer says the concussion is healing quickly and he is ready for the season to start. “The head is good. I’m cleared to start getting back to activity and will be cleared to play come training camp. Things got all complicated recently when I got a sinus infection and had trouble telling the difference between the symptoms of the two issues. Turns out there’s a lot more snot in the sinus thing verses the conky.”
Playing in CLax last season, he says that helped him get ready for the high level play of the NLL.
“CLax, with its unique rules, actually forces people to grow different aspects of their game of which they otherwise wouldn’t. Or at least not as quickly. You’re thrown into this high-tempo, two-way, goaltender-poison, type of game. Obviously O guys quickly find themselves learning (butchering) D, and vice versa. From a goaltender’s point of view, its so much less settled. You find yourself not being able to play theory– not being able to play a system. The D won’t be working with you as seamlessly as it would in other leagues, and the O is more scrambled, and riddled with fast-breaks and an insane number of power plays. For goalies its a lot more reaction, improvising, and being left of your own. I think my first game I had something insane like 70 shots. So by the end of the season goalies in the league had developed a lot more flexibility in their style of play.”
With five goalies at camp yesterday, the Wings obviously are preparing for a fierce battle for the goaltending position. Komer thinks he is ready for it, and welcomes the challenge.
“I know of a few guys who will be there. Although I’ve only ever seen Miller in action, I have no doubt that the others are stellar goaltenders as well. I have an attitude towards other goaltenders wherein I can never be competitive or wish ill of them. Even when they’re on opposing teams, or in a tryout situation, I just want to be friendly with them– because its such a mental position at the best of times that I’d rather keep the stress down amongst the brethren. In Wings camp, my hope is the same for them as it is for myself– that we all play our absolute lights-out-best, and let the coaches pick the right man for any given role. At this point there are so few teams and so many amazing goalies that it really comes down to who fits best fits into the appropriate roll. It’s a funny position in that any given day any goalie can completely steal a game and look inhuman, just as easily as we can have a game where the ball is inexplicably passing through us like we’re ghosts. The brass in Philly needs to see us at our best to see who fits their needs most comfortably. Of course I say all that now, but when as it gets closer to camp I’ll probably snap and pull a Tonya Harding on one or two of them.”
