Thatcher Demko trending upwards at training camp

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko is going to have to micro-manage his knee injury for the foreseeable future or perhaps the rest of his career, but that is a minor inconvenience if done correctly.

Now that Demko is facing shots from coaches at Canucks training camp, skating, and practicing in full gear, we can comfortably say that the 28-year-old goalie is trending upwards.

The Canucks signed former Nashville Predators goalie Kevin Lankinen over the weekend as an insurance policy, which goes to show that the organization's thinking is in the right place. By platooning Lankinen and Arturs Silovs, the Canucks will hopefully avoid the same mistake they made with Demko by rushing him back too early during the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Longtime Canucks goaltending coach Ian Clark was effectively demoted, too, as a result of what went down with Demko. Clark, who was the team's goaltending coach since 2019, has since been repositioned as the director of goaltending, subsequently forcing him to be less hands-on with Demko and the other goalies.

The goaltending coach mantle now belongs to Marko Torenius, a goaltending coach who held that mantle for the Abbotsford Canucks for the last two seasons. Before that, Torenius experienced great success with SKA St. Petersburg in the KHL from the 2014-15 season to the 2021-22 season.

With all of these factors suddenly swinging in Demko's favor in recent weeks, it would be hard to say that the star goalie is not on his way back to normal. Or, whatever normal looks like going forward.

It's still early, but Canucks fans have no real reason to panic just yet.