'He’s All Business': Canucks' Thatcher Demko's Emergence as Elite NHL Goalie Was No Surprise

The Vancouver Canucks' ascent was one of the shocks of last season. Staying strong will afford one of the NHL's elite stoppers more chances to shine in the playoff spotlight.

Thatcher Demko may have gotten injured during the Vancouver Canucks' playoff run, but his ascent to being one of the NHL's elite stoppers continues. Here are two excerpts from The Hockey News' Stanley Cup Playoffs issue in March, with some parts lightly edited with updated information:

While he still has a decade-plus of high-level hockey to go, it seems unjust that we’ve only seen a glimpse of what Thatcher Demko can do in the playoffs so far. 

For the record, it’s not the 28-year-old’s fault that his Vancouver Canucks have failed to make the post-season for most of his NHL tenure, but they’ve certainly rectified that last year as one of the league’s best teams.

The first time Demko was in an NHL playoff crease before his one appearance in 2024 was in the 2020 bubble – a no-fans, white-knuckle affair during the early stages of the pandemic when the world was still very much on edge. 

Vancouver pushed its way past Minnesota in the qualifying round and then St. Louis in the first round with veteran Jacob Markstrom in net. But Markstrom sustained a groin injury in the quarterfinal against Vegas, thrusting Demko into action for Game 5. 

The youngster promptly stopped 42 shots in a 2-1 Canucks win, then shut out the Golden Knights in Game 6 to set up a crucial Game 7 showdown. Ultimately, the Golden Knights ran roughshod over the Canucks, but Demko held the fort, surrendering only a power-play goal to Shea Theodore in the third period. As he stifled the Vegas attack, his teammates couldn’t find the equalizer, and the Golden Knights triumphed 3-0 thanks to two empty-netters. Demko stopped 33 of 34 and undoubtedly put The Fear in Vegas for the last half of the series.

Now the Canucks starter, he looks back at that series with mixed thoughts. 

“I was still pretty young,” Demko said before the 2024 playoffs. “I was trying to do what I could in the moment, in the situation. It definitely made me hungry to get back there and do it again. It was a unique situation, not having fans, so I don’t know if it was the whole playoff experience, but we’re excited to see what’s ahead this year.”

Indeed, excitement has been the name of the game in Vancouver lately, as the Canucks were one of the NHL’s most pleasant surprises. 

Pre-season expectations weren’t high, but coach Rick Tocchet harnessed the team’s talent, helping stars (and pretty much everybody else) reach new heights. 

“We’ve had a pretty solid core in Vancouver for a few years but, obviously, didn’t have the success we wanted up until this point,” Demko said. “It’s been great this year to see things turn around. We always knew we had potential, but to see it formulate on the ice has been great.”

At one point early in the season, it looked as though the Canucks might sweep at the NHL Awards. Pettersson and Hughes were at the top of the Art Ross race, Demko was a Vezina candidate, Hughes looked solid for the Norris and maybe even the Hart, while Tocchet made sense for the Jack Adams.

The Hart field, in particular, shifted thanks to incredible runs by Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. Meanwhile, Tocchet had competition from, among others, John Tortorella in Philadelphia and Rick Bowness in Winnipeg. 

Bowness’ superstar netminder with the Jets, Connor Hellebuyck, started to run away with the Vezina thanks to his stupefying Goals Saved Above Expected lead, but it’s worth noting Demko was second in that category at 22.0 to Hellebuyck’s 33.1 as of late March.

Hughes won the Norris, as did Tocchet with the Jack Adams. But of course, every Canuck would sacrifice individual hardware for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup, and it’s certainly still within reach, especially with Demko in the net. 

“He’s meant a lot to our group,” Boeser said. “We know he’s one of the top goalies in the league. Having him in the net gives us a great chance to win every night.”

For Vancouver’s bench boss, it comes down to the blend of skill, work ethic and mental fortitude that Demko brings every day. 

“He’s all business,” Tocchet said. “What I love about him is, we had a day off the other day, and he went out and got ice for himself to do extra work with (director of goaltending) Ian Clark. He’s won games with shutouts, and there have been games we won where he’s given up four goals early but never let in the fifth. I’m not comparing him to Grant Fuhr, but Fuhr used to be like that. That says a lot for me about a goalie. He doesn’t give up. This guy cares, and his attitude is unreal.”

These are excerpts from Ryan Kennedy's story in The Hockey News' 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs edition, in which Kennedy profiled Canucks superstar goaltender Thatcher Demko. 

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