UTICA, N.Y. -- The past 12 months for Utica Comets goalie Jacob Markstrom have been, to put it politely, tumultuous.
Markstrom was once a top prospect for the Florida Panthers and started 38 games for them over parts of three-and-a-half seasons. But on March 4, 2014, he was sent to the Vancouver Canucks as part of the trade that brought Roberto Luongo back to Florida.
"It came up as a shock," Markstrom said. "I didn't know I was going to be traded, but I got traded and I didn't know what to expect. It was kind of weird, you know, leaving all your friends, leaving what you know to go to your new place, but Vancouver and the whole organization, all the guys were unbelievable."
With the Canucks, Markstrom, a native of Gavle, Sweden, found himself with a franchise that was stocked with fellow Swedes. Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin, Alexander Edler and Eddie Lack made Markstrom feel at home.
"They took me in right away," Markstrom said. "I knew the twins from before and a couple other Swedes. Henrik and Daniel were unbelievable for me personally, especially off the ice, so I felt like [I was] at home and they really took care of me, so that was great."
Markstrom's time off the ice may have been good with his new teammates in Vancouver, but things were different on the ice. After he played 12 games (nine starts) for the Panthers in 2013-2014, he appeared in four games and started none with the Canucks under former coach John Tortorella.
"I was frustrated, but at the same time you can't ... I don't know what Tortorella was thinking or whatever the management [thought]," Markstrom said. "All you can do is work hard, and me and the goalie coach and the strength coach worked every day. It was kind of more like a long term plan instead of, 'Was I going to play tomorrow?' It worked out good. I feel confident about my game. That hard work I put in last year really paid off and it shows off this year and that obviously feels good."
Markstrom started this season with the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. The Canucks signed veteran Ryan Miller to a three-year contract, and Eddie Lack won the job as his backup. After three seasons in the AHL, Markstrom was back there again with a new perspective.
"He's been great. Consummate pro is what I call it," Comets coach Travis Green said. "It's a journey. It's a journey for players to get to the NHL, and I think he understands that. We talk about our process down here in Utica a lot, within your game and individually and as a team. He's a good example. There's a process to goalies making the NHL, and I think he understands that and he knows that at the end of the day, much like other players, all you can control is how well you play the game that you're in. I think he's really taken that to heart. He battles hard in practice. It's not like he's come down here and had the attitude that he's an NHL goalie. He knows that his game has to evolve and part of that is pushing yourself on a daily basis and he's done that."
In his first season with the Comets, Markstrom is 12-4-2 with a .934 save percentage, a 1.92 goals-against average and four shutouts. He was named an AHL All-Star and was voted the starting goalie for the Western Conference.
"He's learning how to use his body and be more efficient with it," Green said. "I saw when Sean Burke was toward the end of his career, he made some subtle changes in his game. And I remember actually watching him and seeing him make the changes when we were playing together in Phoenix. And at times we've commented that he reminds us of [Burke] in net. That's a pretty good compliment. Sean Burke was a [heck] of a goalie in the NHL and had a great career. He's big, he's lanky, he's very competitive. When you talk about Sean Burke, you talked about his competitiveness and his athletic ability and that's what I'm seeing in Markstrom."
Markstrom turns 25 on Saturday. His resurgence with the Comets has been the opportunity he needed to get his career back on track.
"It was at a point in Florida I didn't get out [of it] what I wanted," Markstrom said. "They played me a couple games, and I didn't play as good as I wanted to play, and that's the main reason for me being traded. I think it starts with off the ice. So for me it was kind of, 'OK, either I go back to play in Sweden and shut it down and get comfortable, or I work my bum off and try and get better and prove these people who doubted me and still doubt me, try to prove them wrong.'"
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