The ECHL’s All-Star break has now passed, though it had already been beyond the midway point of the season. The Komets have played 39 of their 72 regular-season games, compiling a 19-14-6 record, good enough for third place in the Central Division.

The Komets, who play their next seven games on the road, skate 7:30 p.m. Friday in Indianapolis against the Indy Fuel (20-18-1). They then go to Toledo, Ohio, to face the Walleye (21-12-4) at 7:15 p.m. Saturday and 5:15 p.m. Sunday.

It’s a crucial weekend for the Komets, who are 12 points back of division-leading Cincinnati, two back of Toledo and three ahead of Indy.

While reinforcements have come this week from the American Hockey League – Mason Bergh is back from Ontario; Ben Jones and Jermaine Loewen from Chicago – let’s examine the five players on the roster who most need to pick up their play going forward:

1) Jason Binkley: The defenseman was brought back because of his consistency on the ice and for his leadership. While his numbers are solid – three goals, 15 points, plus-5 rating, five power-play points in 29 games – he’s had enough bad games to be concerned. The Komets were counting on Binkley to be a player they never had to worry about, but giveaways have dogged him at the worst of times.

2) Olivier Galipeau: It’s a similar storyline here. He’s produced laudable stats – five goals, 22 points, eight power-play points in 34 games – but it’s almost shocking his plus/minus rating is a team-best plus-14. Really, no one is immune from criticism about defensive problems this season, including the forwards, but the Komets would like players such as Galipeau to mind their own net more than the offensive end.

3) Dylan Ferguson: When it comes to goaltenders, Cole Kehler has cemented his spot atop the depth chart. He’s 10-6-1 with a 2.80 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage and two shutouts. Patrick Munson is 3-1-1 with a 2.56 GAA and a .924 SP. I’m not even close to giving up on Ferguson because of his upside, the fact he’s a rookie and since we haven’t seen enough of a body of work. He’s played only 10 games, going 2-3-2 with a 4.27 GAA and a .860 SP, coming out of two games because of illness. He’s undoubtedly feeling a lot of pressure right now, but that’s unavoidable. He may be the single most pivotal figure in how the Komets’ affiliation(s) play out. If the Komets were to demand he be placed somewhere else, the Vegas Golden Knights are quite probably going to be displeased and could pull the rest of their players out of here. But if Ferguson doesn’t improve, the Komets aren’t going to be able to risk putting him into action. I don’t see Fort Wayne asking out of Kehler from the Los Angeles Kings and they love Munson right now.

4) Shawn Szydlowski: He’s been good, and is certainly bringing more to the table than just scoring these days, but Fort Wayne could use him to be more of a game-changer than he has been. He’s got eight goals and 34 points in 35 games. That makes him tied for sixth on the team in goals – did you ever expect that? – though he's tied for third in points. Szydlowski usually picks it up about this time of year, though, so look out.

5) Chase Stewart: The upside is here – we’ve seen it before – but he’s not the top-four defenseman they’d hoped when they re-signed him last offseason. Stewart has three goals, six points and a plus-3 rating in 19 games. (Taylor Doherty was the other potential guy here for me.)

jcohn@jg.net