Vancouver Canucks: A look at the goaltending depth chart
Thatcher Demko
“The goalie of the future” as he was known by Canucks fans since the day he was drafted early in the second round, Thatcher Demko has made great progress. He had a bit of a tough go this year, however. After arriving to be the backup for the Canucks in lieu of the Nilsson trade, Demko played just one game before suffering an injury.
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The injury resulted in Demko missing the majority of a busy month of February. After returning, he struggled to catch his stride right away. He allowed five goals on 24 shots in that game — and followed it up with another loss, this time at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers where he allowed three goals on 34 shots.
He improved with each start he made and was beginning to look like he had the ability to steal games for his team, just as Markstrom showed he is capable of doing.
It’s important that we remember that Demko is just 23 years of age, and that goalies take longer to develop. Just look at Markstrom, who, despite being a top goaltending prospect in his younger years, is just now starting to live up to his potential, at 29 years old.