WHL goalies Eric Comrie, Tristan Jarry battle to represent Canada at world juniors

The odds are in favour of a Western Hockey League goalie representing Canada at the world junior championship this year in Toronto and Montreal. It would be the first time since Los Angeles Kings backup Martin Jones, who at that time played for the Calgary Hitmen, did so in 2010. The Tri-City Americans’ Eric Comrie and Edmonton Oil Kings’ Tristan Jarry have made strong cases to justify why they should get the opportunity to represent their country, but since the Halifax Mooseheads’ Zachary Fucale is expected to return to Canada’s blue paint, they appear to be in a battle for one spot.

Comrie was ultimately a favourite to be one of Canada’s goalies last year, but he was passed over in favour of Fucale and then-Saginaw Spirit netminder Jake Paterson. The Winnipeg Jets second-round pick didn’t, however, let it bother him as he knows he wasn’t the only capable goalie in Canada’s arsenal.

“I don’t feel I have anything to prove because Canada has a lot of good goalies that they can take,” says the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Comrie. “I never took it personal last year and am just going to do the best I can this year and leave the decision up to them.”

It seems to be somewhat of a tossup between Comrie and Jarry this year, though Philippe Desrosiers of the QMJHL's Rimouski Oceanic is also in the mix. Both Comrie and Jarry have stood tall for their respective teams while posting .922 save percentages. Moreover, Jarry does have a slight .27 advantage with a 2.15 average, but the Pittsburgh Penguins second-round pick also has a better team in front of him.

Comrie doesn’t have quite as much pressure on his shoulders this season in Tri-City. He carried the Americans into the playoffs last year and single-handily won them their lone post-season win against the Kelowna Rockets with a 52-save effort. Tri-City’s better well-rounded group should ease his workload down the stretch, but he doesn’t seem to be bothered by what’s out of his control.

“We have a good team right now and we’re just trying to get as many wins early in the season because we know it’s hard to get wins at the end of the year,” says Comrie, who is a native of Edmonton. “I don’t really feel less pressure this year or anything. I just take it game by game and do the best I can each game.”

On the flip side, the Oil Kings are counting on Jarry more this year than last season because they’ve lost some talent up front with New York Islanders prized pick Griffin Reinhart, Phoenix Coyotes prospect Henrik Samuelsson and Ottawa Senators first-rounder Curtis Lazar taking off to the pros. The added pressure hasn’t impacted how the Delta, B.C., native approaches each game, though.

“I play the same game that I played last year,” says the 6-foot-2, 185-pound Jarry. “I wanted to come into this year and just continue what I did last year. I don’t think too much about guys we lost because I know I still have a job to do no matter who is on our team."

The recent WHL Super Series, which took place on Monday and Tuesday this week, was a missed opportunity for both goalies to get a step up. Neither netminder’s performance stood out largely because they had light workloads as Team WHL outshot the Russians 72-33 despite losing both contests. Comrie stopped 13 of 15 shots in Game 1 while Jarry turned away 15 of 18 pucks in the second match.

“The WHL (Super Series) game is just a stepping stone for me,” says Jarry. “It’s a game that I want to play in and prove that I deserve to play in each year. If Hockey Canada likes my performance, that’s good, but I try not to think too much into it.”

As they battle for Canada’s goalie spot, Comrie and Jarry don’t have a bitter rivalry going on. The 19-year-old netminders are close friends and use that relationship to have a friendly competition on the ice.

“We’re really good friends and are roommates here (at the Super Series),” says Comrie. “We both try to do the best we can and we push each other and support each other in the process. I think it’s a healthy competition that benefits both of us.”

Comrie and Jarry are the favourites, but it is not as though they don’t have any other competition for Canada’s puck-stopping opening. Desrosiers and the Charlottetown Islanders’ Mason McDonald likely have been discussed by Hockey Canada as options. They are both high NHL draft picks and have stood their ground in between the pipes in the QMJHL this season.

Kelly Friesen is a Buzzing the Net columnist for Yahoo! Sports. Follow him on Twitter @KellyFriesen