Komets Get A Star

I often wonder how some players fall through the cracks when teams are desperate to fill specific roster spots, but that's how hockey goes, I guess. I say that because the man to the left, former UBC Thunderbirds netminder and 2022 Canada West goaltender of the year Rylan Toth, was available to be signed by a number of NHL and AHL teams, yet his agent's phone never received an offer with which the two could be happy, it seems. I say that because Toth did sign a contract to play professional hockey in 2022-23, but it's not with an NHL or AHL club who could likely use a man of his talents.

Yesterday, the ECHL's Fort Wayne Komets announced that they had signed Rylan Toth for what appears to be a one-year deal unless someone comes along and plucks him off Fort Wayne's roster. Toth, who also won the U SPORTS Goaltender of the Year award, was a Vancouver Canucks EBUG last season so it's not like the guy can't be trusted to stop pucks. If you're an AHL team needing a goaltender, this guy was available and you opted not to call him despite his gaudy numbers and his list of accolades at the university level. That makes sense, right?

Toth played three seasons in the WHL with Red Deer and Seattle where he appeared in 158 games as he posted a 90-72-13 record on the strength of a 2.76 GAA and a .906 save percentage in those games. He jumped to the UBC Thunderbirds for the next five seasons between 2017 and 2022, and he continued to post impressive numbers as he went 30-29-7 with a 2.82 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Consistency was always one of Toth's highlights, and these numbers prove that fact.

What the stats won't tell you, though, is that Toth was often the best player on the ice night-in and night-out for UBC. While he never scored any goals in his career, he often made stops that he had no business making to keep the Thunderbirds in games. That was witnessed in the 2019-20 Canada West playoffs where Toth made 257 stops on 280 shot attempts in eight games - an average of 32 stops on 35 shots per game!

No other goaltender came close to facing that much rubber, and Toth finished the playoffs 4-4-0 with a 2.90 GAA and a .918 save percentage. His goaltending helped the 9-14-5 Thunderbirds upset the 19-8-2 Mount Royal Cougars in the quarterfinal before shocking the world by defeating the 23-6-0 Alberta Pandas in three games as Rylan Toth literally stood on his head in all three semifinal games.

For all the teams that needed organizational depth at the goaltending level last season, Toth would have immediately upgraded the depth chart for those teams. Vancouver specifically used him and Trinity Western's Talor Joseph on the same night as EBUGs at both the NHL and AHL levels, yet they opted not to sign him. Winnipeg, who watched Eric Comrie leave via free agency, opted to sign David Rittich, who likely should be in the AHL, over Rylan Toth who could be a starter in the AHL. Toronto, who had all sorts of injury problems in their crease last season, also chose not to sign the former Thunderbird. To me, this is baffling considering how good Toth has been for so long.

Instead, Fort Wayne, Indiana will be the place where Toth can sharpen his skills once more and, possibly, continue to steal games for his team. The irony is that the Komets just entered into an affiliate agreement with the Edmonton Oilers and Bakersfield Condors - two teams who certainly can use some depth and consistency in the crease at both the NHL and AHL levels. Instead, the Oilers opted to sign Calvin Pickard to a deal, and he'll be tasked to keep Bakersfield competitive this season, so it seems Toth will have to battle his way up the Oilers' depth chart if they run into injury problems in the crease this season.

Fort Wayne may enter the 2022-23 ECHL season with one of the best goaltenders who has yet to play a full season of professional hockey. Rylan Toth will win the Komets hockey games, and he may just earn himself a few more accolades along the way. What is certain is that Toth will battle to keep his team in every game no matter what the odds are, and, if you're a Komets player, you don't mind going into battles knowing that the last line of defence is ready to do whatever it takes to win hockey games.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!