Ryan Fanti’s stated purpose is simple: Become a solid, consistent professional goaltender. Right now, that means taking advantage of the opportunities he’s given by the Komets.

“With whatever I’m given moving forward, whether it’s just practice or games, when I’m in the net I’m just trying to be a pro and be the best player and teammate I can be,” Fanti said Thursday. “Coach (Ben Boudreau) has the lineup and I go with whatever he goes with. I’m just trying to work hard and give myself an opportunity to be good whenever I’m called upon.”

Fanti has been outstanding lately – since rejoining the Komets on Jan. 18, he’s gone 2-2-0 and stopped 140 of the 148 shots (94.6%) he’s faced – and showed the potential the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers saw when they signed him out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth last year.

He might be entitled a little frustration at being in the ECHL, instead of with the Oilers’ affiliate in the American Hockey League, the Bakersfield Condors. But Fanti, 23, whose NHL contract runs through the 2023-24 season, is confident Fort Wayne is giving him the foundation for success as a rookie.

“There’s definitely some little technical stuff here and there that any goalie wants to work on,” said Fanti, the Komets’ only player on an NHL contract. “More than anything, it’s just about coming down here in my first year pro and trying to get in as many games, and be as successful, as possible. And I need to learn the pro lifestyle. It’s definitely a little different, the whole dynamic. The main focus is to be here and build some success and help in whatever way I can with the Komets.”

Last season at Minnesota-Duluth, Fanti was 20-12-4 with a 1.83 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and seven shutouts. UMD won the National Collegiate Hockey Conference playoff title and he was the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, First Team All-Conference and Team MVP.

He played one game with Bakersfield late last season and has gotten into eight this season, going 0-5-1 with a 3.71 GAA and a .884 SP.

It can be challenging to find consistency while repeatedly changing teams and Fanti has discovered that. After starting the regular season with Fort Wayne, he’s had two call-ups to Bakersfield, where the nuances of AHL hockey have been valuable.

“Definitely, up there, the little details are the biggest things. There’s crispness, terms like that, and those (AHL) guys are seasoned veterans,” said Fanti, a 6-foot-3 native of Thunder Bay, Ontario. “There are guys, young studs, coming in and looking to make a name for themselves as second- and third-round draft picks. And there are guys who have been in and out of the NHL their whole careers that are just currently at the AHL level. There’s a lot of skill up there.”

Fanti has played in 11 games for the Komets (18-14-6) and is 4-5-1 with a 3.17 GAA and a .884 SP, indicative of the team’s early season struggles. He is fifth on the Oilers’ goaltending depth chart behind Jack Campbell, Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue, and Edmonton is nurturing him slowly. When in Bakersfield, Fanti works with goaltending coach Sylvain Rodrigue. While here, Oilers goaltending scout Jeff Salajko stops in to work with Fanti.

Those practice repetitions are important because the Komets also want to give game time to Rylan Parenteau (10-4-2, 3.27 GAA, .893 SP) and Colton Point (1-4-1, 4.80 GAA, .862 SP), who is on an AHL contract with Bakersfield and is close to returning from the head injury that has kept him out since mid-December.

“I’m trying to get my feet wet and get settled,” Fanti said. “It’s a little bit easier when you’re playing consistently, because you’re on top of things and used to playing rather than going a couple of weeks without playing. It’s definitely been a little bit different in that sense, but the last few weeks have been nice to play a bunch of games and get in a groove with things.”

The Komets begin a home-and-home series with the Kalamazoo Wings (17-20-3) 8 p.m. today at Memorial Coliseum. The Komets are on a 5-2-1 run and their improvement has much to do with defensive play. While they still rank 26th among the ECHL’s 28 teams in defense with 3.76 goals against per game, they’ve allowed only 2.88 per game over this eight-game stretch.

“I think we’re all taking steps,” Fanti said. “We have some ways to go. We’re (barely) halfway into the season, so there are things we can continue to perfect and to learn over the next (34) games. But yeah, we’re definitely seeing some improvements, whether it’s the defensemen themselves or the team defense as a whole. It’s something we’re always looking to improve and something that will make a difference down the playoff run.”