The low point in Branden Komm’s perplexing five-year journey came near the start of last season.

He had to tell Peggy, his future wife, they were moving again.

Idaho was supposed to be their home for the next six months. Until it wasn’t. Until another team decided it found a better goaltender.

That cut stung more than the others. Komm won 19 games the previous year with the Steelheads and his coach openly praised his work ethic and leadership.

The journeyman from a small college made the mistake of thinking he was safe.

“A messy break up,” Komm said. “Put it that way.”

Komm hit the road again. What choice did he have?

Next it was Quad City, where he played one game. Then it was Manchester, where he played 13.

When the Reading Royals acquired Komm in February, he was on his seventh ECHL team and his fourth in three months.

Komm never thought about quitting. Each setback, however unfair, provided another dose of motivation.

This was his path. He was determined to follow it.

“For some reason the universe was testing me,” Komm said. “I didn’t feel like I deserved to get treated the way I got treated. Once it all fizzles out, if I’m going to write a story I want it to be this way. Nothing was handed to me. I had to earn everything I got.”

Komm skates into the crease each night with a sizable chip on his shoulder. It has grown larger with every exit interview. With every decision that wasn’t about performance.

The 6-1, 181-pound native of western New York was never really the guy. He never had the right contract. His coach was never invested in him.

That’s why the numbers haven’t mattered.

Komm has played 107 games in the ECHL with a save percentage of .914.

Being traded to the Royals was a blessing. He played brilliantly for 11 games down the stretch and helped his latest team make the playoffs.

Komm found a coach who didn’t care that he went to Bentley instead of a big-time program. Or that he was maybe a couple of inches shorter than the ideal NHL height. Or that he never had an AHL contract.

All Kirk MacDonald cared about was results.

“He keeps making saves and making saves,” MacDonald said. “It’s not an accident. The puck hits him.”

MacDonald’s teams faced Komm once in Idaho and again at Manchester. It was enough to convince the second-year coach to commit to the goaltender in a way others hadn’t.

When AHL Lehigh Valley was looking to sign someone to stash in the ECHL for depth, MacDonald told them Komm was the perfect choice.

“This kid’s as good as you’re going to get for an AHL two-way contract,” MacDonald said. “He’s a good goalie. Why not sign him? You don’t have to do any work. He just wants to feel like he has an opportunity and he’s not going to bounce around. He wants somebody to show some faith in him.”

Komm signed his first AHL contract over the summer. He’s 27.

The Flyers and Phantoms were decimated by injuries during training camp and Komm was the AHL team’s No. 1 for the preseason. He started two exhibition games and stopped 53-of-59 shots.

Komm was reassigned to the Royals, as expected, for the opening of the ECHL season.

The Royals have pinned their hopes on Komm. He has started the first four games, helping MacDonald’s team start 2-0-2.

“I want to make him look like the smartest person in the world for giving me a chance and putting his neck on the line for me,” Komm said. “I’m going to do everything I can for him.”

The veteran’s situation is finally stable, for real this time. He refuses to look at it that way. He still talks like a player on the bubble.

History has hardened him. Bouncing around to seven teams in four seasons has made him more resolute.

The why isn’t important now. His best chance is in front of him.

“You hear about all these artists when they’re broken up with, all of a sudden they produce their best albums,” Komm said. “I feel like I’m a better goalie and a better person because of that.”

Komm is finally the guy. He found the team that’ll just let him play.