Canucks' Thatcher Demko injury finally revealed

We know that Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko is dealing with a lower-body injury that was said to be his knee. Until Monday, that was about all the information that was out there.

Demko, 28, was confident that he'll be ready to play soon after addressing the media at the start of Canucks training camp and has since started taking shots from coaches by himself on the ice.

Kevin Woodley, who covers the Canucks for NHL.com, revealed to Halford & Brough on Sportsnet 650 on Monday that Demko's injury is one to the... popliteus muscle, which is indeed located in the knee.

"I can clear up one thing here," Woodley said. "There's no longer uncertainty about what Demko's injury actually is. Get your WebMD out and look up 'popliteus'."

Ironically, WebMD does not display information for the popliteus in its search results.

However, a quick Google search tells us that the popliteus muscle stabilizes the knee and helps control its rotation, like many of the tiny but important ligaments and muscles in the joint.

Additionally, popliteus tendinopathy is an uncommon injury that develops when the popliteus tendon grows a gap. It's an injury most prevalent in athletes who train on inclines and declines and, if left untreated, can become permanent.

That probably explains the Canucks' recent decisions to demote longtime goalie coach Ian Clark and replace him with Marko Torenius. Further to that point, it corroborates reports that, due to his injury, Demko will need to completely change the way he practices, trains, and prepares for games.

Clark, as successful as he has been, is known to be a drill-heavy coach. If he and the Canucks rushed Demko back or did not alter the approach accordingly, that explains why we are in the position we are in today, months after the fact.