Nico Daws etched his name into Utica Comets history on Wednesday night.
The 25-year-old goaltender earned his 56th career win with the Comets, surpassing Thatcher Demko as the winningest goaltender in Utica’s franchise history.
Defenseman Calen Addison tied the game at 1-1 when he scored at the 14:46 mark of the third period. In the shootout, the Comets received goals from forward Angus Crookshank and defenseman Topias Vilen. Daws stopped both shots face to celebrate his milestone.
Daws’ record is 13-16-7-1 this season, with a goals-against average of 2.93 and a save percentage of 0.888.
He has shared the net with rookie Jakub Málek, who transitioned his game to North America for the 2025-26 season. Their partnership grew as the days passed, with Daws occasionally sitting in on Málek’s video sessions with Comets’ goaltending coach Brian Eklund.
“I am not a veteran by any means, but I have had my fair share of American League games, and I have had a good amount of ups and a lot of downs,” Daws told The Hockey News in January. “(Our partnership), it is definitely getting better. It is something that over the past couple of weeks, I have tried to make a much better effort of being there and talking to him.”
Daws is in the final year of a two-year contract that he signed in July 2024 with an average annual value of $812,500. He is set to become a restricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2025-26 campaign.
Over the past five seasons, he has played 137 games with the Comets and 53 with the New Jersey Devils, including one this season where he earned a victory against the Minnesota Wild.
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