Demko to represent Canucks at his first NHL All-Star Game

Thatcher Demko is officially an All-Star goalie.

The Vancouver Canucks No. 1 netminder was the only member of his team named to next month’s NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas. It’s the first All-Star nod of the 26-year-old’s career.

Demko is currently tied for fifth in wins (15) among NHL goalies, and ranks 11th in save percentage (.917). Only two goalies have started more games (28) than the Canucks’ workhorse netminder this season.

Demko will play on the Pacific Division All-Star team, along with John Gibson (Anaheim Ducks), Johnny Gaudreau (Calgary Flames), Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers), Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings), Timo Meier (San Jose Sharks), and Alex Pietrangelo and Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights).

One more player from each of the NHL’s four divisions will be named to the game, as part of the NHL’s “last men in” fan vote. J.T. Miller, who is tied for 16th in NHL scoring with 36 points in 35 games, is the Canucks representative on the last men in ballot.

Noticeably absent from the roster is Quinn Hughes, who is ninth in scoring by NHL defencemen this season with 28 points in 34 games.

Both Miller and Hughes also likely deserve to make the Pacific Division team, but the NHL’s desire to pick at least one representative from each team in the league complicates matters.

The 2022 NHL All-Star Game is set to take place February 4-5 in Las Vegas. It will once again be a four-team tournament, featuring games played at three-on-three.

2022 NHL All-Star rosters

Auston Matthews (Atlantic), Nathan MacKinnon (Central), Alex Ovechkin (Metropolitan), and Connor McDavid (Pacific) were named captains of their respective teams as a result of the All-Star fan vote.

Atlantic Division (All-Star Appearance)

• F Drake Batherson, OTT (1st)
• F Patrice Bergeron, BOS (3rd)
• F Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA (2nd)
• F Dylan Larkin, DET (2nd)
• F Auston Matthews, TOR (4th)
• F Nick Suzuki, MTL (1st)
• D Rasmus Dahlin, BUF (1st)
• D Victor Hedman, TBL (3rd)
• G Jack Campbell, TOR (1st)
• G Andrei Vasilevskiy, TBL (4th)

Central Division (All-Star Appearance)

• F Kyle Connor, WPG (1st)
• F Alex DeBrincat, CHI (1st)
• F Kirill Kaprizov, MIN (1st)
• F Clayton Keller, ARI (2nd)
• F Jordan Kyrou, STL (1st)
• F Nathan MacKinnon, COL (4th)
• F Joe Pavelski, DAL (4th)
• D Cale Makar, COL (1st)
• G Juuse Saros, NSH (1st)
• G Cam Talbot, MIN (1st)

Metropolitan Division (All-Star Appearance)

• F Sebastian Aho, CAR (2nd)
• F Claude Giroux, PHI (7th)
• F Jack Hughes, NJD (1st)
• F Chris Kreider, NYR (2nd)
• F Alex Ovechkin, WSH (8th)
• D Adam Fox, NYR (1st)
• D Adam Pelech, NYI (1st)
• D Zach Werenski, CBJ (2nd)
• G Frederik Andersen, CAR (2nd)
• G Tristan Jarry, PIT (2nd)

Pacific Division (All-Star Appearance)

• F Leon Draisaitl, EDM (3rd)
• F Jordan Eberle, SEA (2nd)
• F Johnny Gaudreau, CGY (6th)
• F Adrian Kempe, LAK (1st)
• F Connor McDavid, EDM (5th)
• F Timo Meier, SJS (1st)
• F Mark Stone, VGK (1st)
• D Alex Pietrangelo, VGK (3rd)
• G Thatcher Demko, VAN (1st)
• G John Gibson, ANA (3rd)

Last men in candidates

Atlantic Division

• Boston Bruins: Charlie McAvoy (D)
• Buffalo Sabres: Tage Thompson (F)
• Detroit Red Wings: Lucas Raymond (F)
• Florida Panthers: Aleksander Barkov (F)
• Montreal Canadiens: Tyler Toffoli (F)
• Ottawa Senators: Brady Tkachuk (F)
• Tampa Bay Lightning: Steven Stamkos (F)
• Toronto Maple Leafs: John Tavares (F)

Central Division

• Arizona Coyotes: Phil Kessel (F)
• Chicago Blackhawks: Seth Jones (D)
• Colorado Avalanche: Nazem Kadri (F)
• Dallas Stars: Jason Robertson (F)
• Minnesota Wild: Ryan Hartman (F)
• Nashville Predators: Roman Josi (D)
• St. Louis Blues: Robert Thomas (F)
• Winnipeg Jets: Mark Scheifele (F)

Metropolitan Division

• Carolina Hurricanes: Andrei Svechnikov (F)
• Columbus Blue Jackets: Jakub Voracek (F)
• New Jersey Devils: Jesper Bratt (F)
• New York Islanders: Mathew Barzal (F)
• New York Rangers: Mika Zibanejad (F)
• Philadelphia Flyers: Cam Atkinson (F)
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Jake Guentzel (F)
• Washington Capitals: Evgeny Kuznetsov (F)

Pacific Division

• Anaheim Ducks: Troy Terry (F)
• Calgary Flames: Matthew Tkachuk (F)
• Edmonton Oilers: Darnell Nurse (D)
• Los Angeles Kings: Drew Doughty (D)
• San Jose Sharks: Logan Couture (F)
• Seattle Kraken: Mark Giordano (D)
• Vancouver Canucks: J.T. Miller (F)
• Vegas Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault (F)