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Thatcher Demko | #35 | G

Drouin

By Drouin
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TheRussianRocket. Canucks All-Star

TheRussianRocket.

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Alflives said:

How soon till he's here?  Does the torch skip Marky?

Markstrom so far looks like a stop gap goalie who's a project in work.

Right now he's a 1B goalie but if we're fortunate and he develops, he can maybe become a 1 aka a starter. I think they'll ride Markstrom, maybe even sign another veteran goalie if Miller walks, and wait for Demko to get in the picture.

IMHO, that's probably the picture crease. Have Demko backup Markstrom in 2-4 years and eventually, give the reigns to Demko and have Markstrom backup...unless Markstrom becomes a legitimate starter or maybe Demko doesn't reach his potential...goalies are weird and near impossible to project, let's just leave it at that :P

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Lancaster Canucks First-Line

Lancaster

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Hopefully this kid progresses correctly.  Before we proclaim him the next eventual starter for Canucks.... lets just remember that Vancouver wasn't just a graveyard for near NHL-level goalies, but for goalie prospects too.  Schneider was perhaps the only starter to be developed in-house in the last few decades.  Prior to him..... Cloutier was acquired through trade.  Alex Auld wasn't developed properly and ended up as a 1B to backup goalie.  Corey Hirsch was good initially, but left for Europe.  Then there's Brochu, Mike Fountain, Jonathan Iilahti seemed like a good prospect at one point, Joe Cannata was given the same praises as Demko is now. 

Just saying, we should temper all expectations until at least Thatcher can at least perform in the AHL level. 

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Gstank29 Canucks Star

Gstank29

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Posted (edited)
8 minutes ago, Lancaster said:

Hopefully this kid progresses correctly.  Before we proclaim him the next eventual starter for Canucks.... lets just remember that Vancouver wasn't just a graveyard for near NHL-level goalies, but for goalie prospects too.  Schneider was perhaps the only starter to be developed in-house in the last few decades.  Prior to him..... Cloutier was acquired through trade.  Alex Auld wasn't developed properly and ended up as a 1B to backup goalie.  Corey Hirsch was good initially, but left for Europe.  Then there's Brochu, Mike Fountain, Jonathan Iilahti seemed like a good prospect at one point, Joe Cannata was given the same praises as Demko is now. 

Just saying, we should temper all expectations until at least Thatcher can at least perform in the AHL level. 

Hes put up some good numbers in Sweden but haven't made the jump to the SHL

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=43557

Do we still own his rights? or has he given up on hockey?

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Lancaster Canucks First-Line

Lancaster

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Gstank29 said:

Hes put up some good numbers in Sweden but haven't made the jump to the SHL

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=43557

Do we still own his rights?

I'm not sure.  Didn't he have some visa issues or something that prohibited him from either playing for the farm team or in WHL?

So far, he's in the 2nd tier of Swedish hockey, so nothing really to write home about in terms of stats.  On a slightly unrelated note.... former prospect and one of another Swedish twin, Patrihk Vesterholm is starting to get his bearings.... putting up 14 points in 20 games in the SEL. 

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Ilya Mikheyev Canucks First-Line

Ilya Mikheyev

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Lancaster said:

Hopefully this kid progresses correctly.  Before we proclaim him the next eventual starter for Canucks.... lets just remember that Vancouver wasn't just a graveyard for near NHL-level goalies, but for goalie prospects too.  Schneider was perhaps the only starter to be developed in-house in the last few decades.  Prior to him..... Cloutier was acquired through trade.  Alex Auld wasn't developed properly and ended up as a 1B to backup goalie.  Corey Hirsch was good initially, but left for Europe.  Then there's Brochu, Mike Fountain, Jonathan Iilahti seemed like a good prospect at one point, Joe Cannata was given the same praises as Demko is now. 

Just saying, we should temper all expectations until at least Thatcher can at least perform in the AHL level. 

The Canucks also only chose 1 goalie in the top 3 rounds from 1986-Schneids. 

Hirsch was already 23 when he joined the Canucks and spent 0 games in the Canucks farm system, and it's not like he was putting up great stats at the AHL level. 

Auld was never brought in to be much more than depth, he just played lights out in a couple short call-ups, which a lot of goalies in history have done for short periods of time. Iilahti was a 6th round pick and was never expected to do much, the only thing that pumped him up was one Sportsnet clip.

In recent history (like, where actual coaching staff and management might have overlapped) Schneider was developed well, Lack was looking good, Eriksson looked good, but couldn't beat out Markstrom who looked even better, Cannata is putting up good stats despite depth and injuries originally giving him little chance of making the AHL. 

I, for one, am shamelessly stoked on Demko. Showing all the tools and came back from a big injury better than ever. Can't wait until he's outta college. 

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Robongo Canucks Third-Line

Robongo

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Thatcher Demko could write a term paper. About himself.

Think about it. The applied psychology major at Boston College, who also has a minor in philosophy, posted six shutouts in his first seven games this season. Demko became just the second NCAA goaltender to record goose-eggs in that span of games, and it came after the Vancouver Canucks second-round pick in the 2014 NHL draft had surgery in April to repair labrum tears to both hips.

That’s a lot of initial angst, offseason anticipation and rehab application for the 19-year-old stopper, who was in constant pain after each game last season.

Certainly, all that wonderment would be worthy of a high mark if he chronicled the challenge of getting mind and body in order to pursue his professional dreams.

“I had a couple of people mention that to me,” Demko told The Province recently, chuckling about the term-paper possibility"

“I’m getting all the thinking going, and I’m still on that (psychology major) path.”

Demko has methodically placed himself in position to not only have a great Hockey East season — he won 10 of his first 11 starts and had an eye-popping 1.18 goals-against average and .955 save percentage — but possibly turn pro as early as next fall. He turns 20 on Dec. 8. And in the rapid ascension of today’s top prospects, playing pro that early would put the San Diego native on a path to get to the NHL sooner than many of his peers.

Five goalies were selected in the second round in 2014, and Demko’s development is by far the best of any in that draft. The Canucks are expected to talk contract with Demko next summer and see if he’s ready to make the professional leap. It could be timely.

Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom have another year left on their respective contracts with the Canucks. So does Richard Bachman, while Joe Cannata is a restricted free agent after this season. Joacim Eriksson bolted to the KHL this season after not being tendered a qualifying offer after a strong AHL season, because Canucks general manager Jim Benning “wanted to go in another direction.”

For Demko it’s not a matter of if, but when he’ll play in the NHL. And when you talk goaltending in Vancouver, you talk of constant change because the departures of Cory Schneider, Roberto Luongo and Eddie Lack were as much to do with money as the ability to play the position. Change is constant and it can be dramatic. Demko could play another collegiate season, or play into the Canucks’ future sooner than anticipated.

“I try not to think about it,” he said. “People can speculate as much as they want about what my future is going to look like in the next couple of years. I’m just focusing on each game and taking it shot by shot, and hoping for the best. I am property of the Canucks and invested in them. I keep an eye on them and how they’re doing in all positions — not just goaltending. It’s been cool.”

Canucks goaltending consultant Dan Cloutier had an instant interest in Demko because he saw a 6-foot-3 prospect who not only had a strong foundation to build upon, but a prospect who was willing to do the work. You can teach the skills, but you can’t teach the desire.

Demko still needs to polish certain aspects of his game that come with experience — tracking and reacting top the list — but he goes into every practice with a purpose of improving something specific, not just stopping pucks.

“His game is definitely on the upswing,” said Cloutier, who saw Demko play three times this season, all of them shutouts.

“It’s no secret that from the first interviews we had with Thatcher, I really liked his knowledge of the game and the way he approached it, and how driven he is. I don’t think he’s the type of kid who will overlook and wonder, ‘Where am I going to be in a year or two years?’

“He stays in the now, which is extremely important. He has a great head on his shoulders, and it’s just monitoring him this season to see where it goes.”

It’s going better than even Demko could have imagined. When Bryan Kelly, the noted New York surgeon to the sporting stars, operated on the goalie on April 20, there was a level of confidence. The elimination of pain, and improved mobility and flexibility in the butterfly position, were expected, because several stoppers have had the same procedure. Demko first felt a pinch in his hip at age 15, and it would only worsen to where he had zero degrees of internal rotation in his hips last season.

“It was a pretty big hindrance, but my hips are doing pretty well,” said Demko. “It’s a full year until I’ll be at 100 per cent, but I’m in a lot more comfort than last season and I definitely feel it getting better every week. My flexibility is definitely a lot better and my butterfly is a little bit wider. I’m able to get into it a little bit quicker and I just feel more athletic. I don’t feel like I was as restricted as I was last season and I definitely feel more free in the crease.

“It’s definitely a relief. As much as I don’t like to admit it, it was definitely in the back of my head last season. I feel better and I’m at the top of my game. The only apprehension was all mental, about coming back from that (surgery). I was a little nervous and I didn’t want to take any steps backward from the procedure. But the impingement was taken care of, so there was no real way to re-injure it.

“And when I did get back on the ice, I was pretty confident that I’d be ready to go for the season.”

Demko admits that any post-operation trepidation was eased by former Boston College stopper John Muse, who had the same procedure a few years ago. He was at the school getting in some extra training in the summer and it was easy for Demko to see tangible proof of what the surgery could do for him. The undrafted Muse, 27, is playing with Texas of the AHL this season and was 4-1-1 with a 2.82 GAA and .910 save percentage. It’s the same story with 20-year-old Eric Comrie. The 2013 second-round Winnipeg draft choice is playing for the club’s AHL franchise and had a 1.77 GAA and .944 in his first five starts, in which he went 2-2-1.

As for Demko, being able to concentrate on what’s happening in front of him — rather than worrying about what’s happening with his hips — has made all the difference.

“I can’t do it by myself and our team defence has been great, but I do feel a lot more mentally sharp,” he said. “I was able to polish some stuff and take over my mental game, so I was thinking progress — even during rehab.”

http://www.theprovince.com/sports/Kuzma+Canucks+prospect+Demko+future/11552096/story.html

Really encouraging to hear how good he feels so soon after the procedures. I had the exact same procedure done and I didn't feel as good as he did for a lot longer, closer to a year at least. The exciting part is he admits that he's still not 100%, so his movement will only continue to improve. I really hope they convince him to turn pro after this year, the sky's the limit for Thatcher!

Edited by Robongo
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