Canucks looking into new strategy to manage Demko's workload next season
The Vancouver Canucks have noticed a trend with Thatcher Demko, and they’re adjusting accordingly.
Demko has suffered three major injuries in the past two seasons, and the team thinks a change may be necessary to prevent this from happening again.
Canucks president Jim Rutherford, a former goalie himself, detailed what he thinks needs to happen to ensure his team has Demko available when it matters most.
“I think there needs to be some adjustments in how he approaches his workouts. He is probably the hardest working guy that I’ve ever seen,” explained Rutherford on a recent episode of The Bob McCown Podcast.
“He’s on the ice before the players come on the ice. He works; he’s probably put in enough work when he works directly with Ian Clark before the players come on the ice.”
“Maybe between Thatcher and Ian and Rick Tocchet looking at how much work he’s putting in in-between games might be able to help him because I just think he pushes himself too hard.”
Demko’s impressive work ethic is well-known, and it’s one of the reasons why he has been able to return from injury relatively quickly, although it may be doing more harm than good in certain situations.
The 28-year-old netminder had the best year of his career last season. He ended with a 35-14-2 record, a 2.45 goals-against-average, and a .918% save percentage. He finished second in Vezina Trophy voting as a result.
The American suffered his second major injury of the year in the first game of the playoffs, knocking him out for the rest of the postseason.
DEMKO-M-G pic.twitter.com/CJTWiqV2yt
— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) April 22, 2024
Demko’s workload will be something to monitor next year as the team works to ensure their star goalie can play as many games as possible while still staying healthy.
The emergence of young Latvian goalie Arturs Silovs in the playoffs should give the Canucks a capable backup to take some of the pressure off their starter. While he has just nine career regular season starts, the 23-year-old seemed unfazed in the face of pressure last playoffs.
The Canucks reconvene for training camp in Penticton on September 19. That will mark the start of the new season, where the team will attempt to improve on last year’s result, where they made it to Game 7 of the second round.
Follow Channels and Categories