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Canucks select Thatcher Demko 36th overall "the top-rated goalie coming into the draft" Vancouver Canucks ‏@VanCanucks 2 min With their first pick of the 2nd round, the #Canucks draft Thatcher Demko 36th overall. #NHLDraft Vancouver Canucks ‏@VanCanucks 6 s Demko, 6'3", 192 lbs, is a goaltender from San Diego, CA. #NHLDraft #Canucks History 2010-11: Thatcher Demko played midget hockey for the Tier 1 Junior Gulls program in southern Callfornia. In 25 games he was 12-12-1 with a 2.47 goals against and .913 save percentage. Demko was invited to USA Hockey's Select 16 Player Development camp in Rochester, NY in June 2011 and was selected to represent the USA in the 2011 U17 Five Nations Cup in August 2011. 2011-12: Demko returned to California after winning a gold medal with the USA U17 squad at the 2011 Five Nations Tournament in August. He spent just over a month with the U16 Los Angeles Junior Kings before joining the USHL's Omaha Lancers in December. Demko represented the USA at the 2012 U17 World Hockey Challenge in Canada. In 15 games with the Lancers he was 9-3 with 1 shutout and had a 2.87 goals against and .899 save percentage. Demko played seven games with the Junior Kings; posting a 2.29 goals against and .907 save percentage. He appeared in two games at the WHC and had a 1.09 goals against and .949 save percentage, recording 22 saves in a shootout victory over Sweden in the semifinals, and was 2-0 in three games at the Five Nations Tournament with a 2.63 goals against and .911 save percentage. 2012-13: Demko was invited to join USA Hockey's National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, MI — skating for the NDTP's U18 squad as a 16-year-old — and in December 2012 committed to playing college hockey at Boston College in 2013-14. He played for Team USA's U18 team in the 2012 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament and at the 2013 World Junior Championship in Sochi, Russia. He was 31-9-3 with six shutouts and had a 2.06 goals against and .911 save percentage in 45 games for the NDTP's U18 team. Demko was 2-2 in four games at the Ivan Hlinka Tournament, with both losses coming in overtime, and had a 3.27 goals against and .895 save percentage. He was 4-3 in seven games with one shutout for the USA silver medal-winning squad in Sochi; posting a 2.24 goals against and .899 save percentage. 2013-14: Thatcher Demko is splitting the goaltending duties at Boston College with junior Brian Billett in his freshman season. Demko was one of three goalies invited to USA Hockey's U20 evaluation camp in July and was with the team at the 2014 World Junior Championship but did not see any action. He played for Team Johnson in the 2013 USA Hockey/CCM All-American Prospects game in September and was the top ranked North American goaltender in Central Scouting's mid-term rankings prior to the 2014 NHL Draft.

DEMKO!!

Demko?

Oh!

Help me out again. When will the second round begin today? Same time as the 1st round yesterday?

Don't really know that much about the later picks TBH, but from what I've seen I really like what guys like Lemieux or McKeown could bring to the team in a few years.

Nicely put.

I was a bit against this for a long time, but at the end of the day I'm really really happy that we drafted him. He's really excited to be here and ready to take his good time to be healthy and ready. Not just expecting to get into the lineup right away.

That is steep (6th, 24th & Shinkaruk), but boy it would be nice to finally land a no 1 overall, hometown boy, future 1st liner (I hope) in Sam Reinhart. Almost makes me want to do this.

To get the no 1 you most def. need to overpay.

One minute ago I was absolutely certain we would get the 1st overall. Now I'm not sure. Maybe. I hope. Please? Do it! I feel like I have some issues...

Kinda mixed emotions on this one. On one hand, Miller can be a stellar goalie that could potentially carry a team all the way if everything works out. Eddie is not there yet. But Lack was so promisingly good last year that I'd really like for him to keep progressing there as a starter. The situation would be ideal from the teams perspective tho, as Miller would serve as mentor and could take care of majority of the games down the road, were as Eddie might be a bit fatigued after starting most of the time.

So I'm hoping it goes down; Etem, Vatanen & 10th for Kesler 10th, 6th & Tanev for 1st (Reinhart) It's a lot go give up, but it also gives us what we need without giving up any of our top prospects, while enabling us to add to that pool. Added with the fact that if we play poorly next year, we'll have another high pick and be well on our way to getting back into the playoff picture by then, with Horvat, Shinkaruk, Gaunce, Jensen, Reinhart, Cassels, Fox, Etem, Corrado, Vatanen all ready or pretty close to taking the next step then. That along with hopefully a completely matured Kassian.

Dunno about the rest of you, but drafting Horvat & Shinkaruk might be the best thing that GMMG did in his last few years here. I think Linden & Benning see that too. Those are not guys you wan't to give away, even for a 1st. Horvat is a solid pickup and Shinkaruk IMO a steal late in the 1st round.

I really don't wan't to lose Shinkaruk in a deal yet. What ever Torts, Sullivan & Gulutzan did right or wrong last year, Horvat, Shinkaruk & Gaunce were very close to making the team. Now they most def. aren't worse than before... With the return we (hopefully) will get from the Kesler deal will make our prospect pool one of the most exciting in the NHL. If we for example deal Kesler to the Ducks, with by the way is my preference, and land something like Etem/ Vatanen, 1st etc. and actually could pull off a deal to get the first from Florida. Think about it. Long shot I know, but if. Kesler will still get us some quality return and that most likely will include a first. So either we could draft 6th & 10th, or first and hopefully 6th as well. Reinhart & Draisaitl/Ehlers etc. Horvat Shinkaruk Etem Gaunce Jensen Cassels Very unlikely all that would happen, but if... I'd be willing to sacrifice a season or two to have that. And if that happens, we'll draft high for another couple of years. If not, that would be even better.

With Trevor Linden in charge (and Benning of course), you really feel more calm about things, even with the draft and FA signings coming up. Even if every single GM is trying their best to reach a deal with the best people available - you feel as if yuou are in good hands with Linden. He will be ALL about improving the team. Never about improving his ego or saving his job. That feels like the big difference between now and the last year or two. Thank you for being here, Trevor! Kinda makes me feel for Gulutzan for not getting the job. It would be pretty terrific to have two world class coaches to back up a guy like Desjardins here. But then again, I can't see Crow ever, never ever even being even a friend of the franchise anymore. In the meaning it will blow out of proportion if he did. Too much unresolved, bad history involved. Right or wrong.

Yeah, but it will also give the man a new chance. We'll get something in return and he'll get a fresh start. Betterthan burying him in the minors or bundesliga a la Patrick Whitefor no return at all. With how I (selfish and ignorant at the moment) see it, he won't fit our roster this fall anyways.

Too bad there doesn't seem to be room for him in the new look lineup. And he needs to do a Mason Raymond and jump start his game again. He's been very unlucky with injuries and all...

I really like the kid, but I don't see him fitting in anywhere. Then again, I have no clue what will happen. So I'll just hope the fit him in somewhere and that he actually makes the jump.

I loved AV as the coach, but his time in this locker room was up... as sad as it is. Now you only remember the good things when he's having success in NY, but he did have the issue of not making changes mid game if we were down, then again he changed lineup every single day and never gave a line the benefit of a doubt, the Luongo - Schneider saga, etc. I still say he's the best coach we have had so far and I hope we find an even better one this summer.

Russia was better as the scoresheet proves. They capitalized on their PP opportunities, chances we shouldn't have been giving them in the first place. If any of you watched the game; the penalties handed out by the refs to Finns were hardly penalty-worth at all. And the hollywood class -acting by Russia was at times a bit entertaining as well. They saw how the refereeing was going to be and used it to their advantage. No-one ever likes losing, but silver was way better than anyone was expecting of this team to accomplish. We had 14 newcomers to the international stage. That is a lot against a team like Russia, that had almost an olympic team on the ice.

He said in an interview earlier that he's looking to get back to the NHL as soon as possible, but he has had no calls or inquires so far. It would be such an energy boost for our fourth line to have him there yapping like Esa Tikkanen all the time. He finishes his checks, gets under the skin of opponents, has reasonable vision and scoring touch. An upgrade on any and all our 4th liners by a huge margin. Grittier, energy player that can contribute. He fits the description Benning talked about for our bottom 6 down to a tee.

It doesn't tell the whole story, but if teams like Sweden have Daniel Rahimi and no Sedins, Edler etc., Russia has Shirokov, Olli Jokinen is captain of team Finland, it tells us the best guys aren't there at this time. Canada iced a very competitive group IMO, and can easily make 3-4 teams that can win the tournament any day of the week if they play well together. So I'd say that isn't it. Finland iced the weakest team in two decades, both on paper and on the ice. In my 25+ years of watching international hockey, never have we had so much issues getting our team to play together. It showed big time tonite, and the better team lost this one. We got lucky. The only team that has an olympic roster again, is Russia. And I'm pretty confident that they will win this one. Unless they underestimate the opponent, like they have so often against Finland for example. Double shifting Ovie and Malkin all the time and then blowing a gasket when things don't go their way and everyone starts playing solo for the rest of the game. That might be the only chance they'd lose.

Belarus is trying to finish the upset of today against Sweden.

Scrivens was average at best. So was Finland, but Scrivens gave up a few he should have gotten. Sad for Burr, Juice and Garrison, but my country is my country and I'm as happy as I can be after a season like we had. Did you notice Olli Palola or Leo Komarov tonight. Palola can hold the puck so well and has a decent shot to go with that God I hope we take a real close look at Komarov this summer!