Jump to content
The Official Site of the Vancouver Canucks
Enter Search Term. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search.
Forum Closure ×
Canucks Community
Forum Closure

Thatcher Demko | #35 | G

Drouin

By Drouin
in Current Roster

 Share

Recommended Posts

Robongo Canucks Third-Line

Robongo

Posted
Posted

I asked the same thing on HF, and didn't really get any clarity. I've been thinking about Thatcher a lot and his hip problems. I'm a goalie myself and have found myself battling some hip issues myself. I have hip impingement, and I was told that I could put off the surgery for a bit and still stay relatively active so long as I did the proper hip strengthening and avoid certain movements that aggravated the hips.

I put off hip arthroscopy for a year and apparently because of it I have lasting problems(albeit pretty minor for a non athlete) such as minor hip degeneration. I've read that Thatcher's hip socket shape is irregularly shaped (similarly worded to mine), and needs to be resurfaced. Now I'm not saying he has the same problem that I've had, or that he will have same problems, but I've read that he's putting off the surgeries for a year. I just can't see how this would be a good decision considering how much stress he puts on his hips on a regular basis. Anyone know anything other than the vague descriptions in the media of his hip problem?

My surgery was done at UBC by the same doctor that did Kesler's and I'm having similar problems with my opposite hip now that I've been loading it more because of my right hip surgery. My surgeon recommended I get my other hip done asap to avoid further damage. Curious if anyone knows more specifics on his hip problem and why he's putting it off?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robongo Canucks Third-Line

Robongo

Posted
Posted

If there was any risk of making the injury worse or having it threaten his career, I'm sure he would have had the surgery right away.

Leave it to the experts to decide what's best for him.

I agree however an "expert" gave me the wrong advice ,everyone's different and our understanding of many injuries continuously evolves. I do however agree it can't big that big of a deal as it's being brushed aside as such.

I guess I want to know more so for my own curiosity than anything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robongo Canucks Third-Line

Robongo

Posted
Posted (edited)

Must have been pretty cool for him working with his idol Dan Cloutier.

edit : Says it was added yesterday but apparently it's a repost. Still was new to me.

Edited by Robongo
  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dutch_Canuck Abbotsford Star

Dutch_Canuck

Posted
Posted

Im very excited for thatcher ! I feel like he will be a great goalie. He is performing really well in the world juniors development games and is the goalie that is standing out the most.

"NHL Network analyst Jamie McLennan spent parts of 11 seasons playing goalie in the NHL with five teams from 1993 to 2007. And at 6-foot and 207 pounds, he said he considered himself "a big guy."

But while watching the goaltenders USA Hockey invited to Lake Placid, N.Y., last week for a summer evaluation camp geared toward picking the players that will play for the United States at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship, he didn't feel so big.

"Being a 6-foot goaltender I thought I was a big guy," McLennan said. "Today I'd be a shrimp. Everyone is 6-2 and up and that's what teams draft."

All four goaltenders at the camp each stood 6-foot-3 or taller, but it was Thatcher Demko, the biggest of the four at 6-4 and 192 pounds, who stood out the most to McLennan.

Demko, selected by the Vancouver Canucks in the second round (No. 36) of the 2014 NHL Draft, arrived to camp as the expected No. 1 goalie for the 2015 WJC, and by the end of the camp those feelings hadn't changed. In between, however, he hit a few bumps, allowing eight goals on 27 shots in parts of three games. But his best effort came in his first full game when he stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 7-1 win against Sweden. He also stopped all nine shots he faced in one period against the Czech Republic on the final day of camp.

More than the skill set Demko displayed, it was the way he carried himself that impressed McLennan.

"He's a big guy and he's confident," McLennan said. "When you watch a goaltender, sometimes the way they carry themselves … it's impressive. He looked like a seasoned vet. You're going to allow goals; you're going to allow bad goals in your progression. You'll learn a lot. His mechanics are really good, he's got good feet, his positioning is strong. But for me it's the way he carries himself, the poise in the net. I saw Carey Price at a young age, that type of poise. I don't want to compare anybody, but if you have that type of confidence and that aura around you, there's a few starting goaltenders that I've watched at a young age and the way they carry themselves, and Thatcher has that."

  • Upvote 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
elvis15 Canucks Hall-of-Famer

elvis15

Posted
Posted

PROSPECT PROFILE: #13 THATCHER DEMKO

...

Thatcher Demko found himself in a bit of a unique situation last year. Everyone remembers that Demko went to the same college as Cory Schneider did, but what gets lost in the shuffle is that the Canucks didn't actually draft Schneider out of Boston College or the NCAA - Schneider was drafted as a high schooler playing in the US National Development Program. Demko, however, fast-tracked through high school and landed an NCAA starting gig at just 17, which is nearly unprecedented. I spoke to expert on all things NCAA Chris Peters of CBS Sports, and here's what he had to say about Demko:

The Cory Schneider comparisons will be unavoidable. Not only did the Demko and Schneider both attend Boston College, but Demko is the first legitimate young goalie prospect Vancouver has had since drafting Schneider a decade ago in 2004. I asked Chris if the Schneider comparisons would extend to Demko's style of goaltending too, and Chris didn't seem to think that this will be the case:

SBNation's college hockey blog had Demko rated as the best NHL G prospect in the entire NCAA before the draft, ahead of guys like Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck and Calgary's Jon Gillies (as well as super high scoring teammate Johnny Gaudreau). They had the following to say about him:

Chances are, however, that if we do eventually get to see Demko in the NHL, it won't be for another 6 or 7 seasons, as Peters explains:

A whole lot can change in 6 or 7 years, but fortunately for Demko, it looks as if Vancouver has largely cleared the way for someone to claim the starting job around that time. Ryan Miller will be long gone, and Eddie Lack will be a ripe old 35. Jakob Markstrom, if he even sticks around beyond this season, will also be in his early 30's.

Based on their investment and the landscape, it seems safe to say that Thatcher Demko will likely be afforded every opportunity to be Vancouver's goalie of the future. He's already doing things that few other goalies his age have been able to do, and if he keeps developing on this path, he'll have as good a chance as anyone to be a legitimate NHL goalie.

Demko is, by virtue of his position, still quite a risky bet and by the numbers probably a longshot to become a future starter in the NHL, let alone a star goalie like Cory Schneider became. The numbers indicate that Demko has a less than a 10% chance of becoming at least a fringe starting goalie, but I don't necessarily trust the numbers enough to say this is definitively accurate.

What's important for the Canucks is that the pedigree is there, and the potential is there. Now it's time to play the long waiting game.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
riley57 Junior Prospect

riley57

Posted
Posted

Haha I wonder if he throws those little chirps out during games? Most goalies I've encountered are pretty quiet. Strange as all he'll but quiet.

Goalies are usually very vocal on the ice, so that they can tell their D-men what to do, if they're going to play it and also to be a second set of eyes if someone's on them. Not uncommon at all.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...