The Vancouver Canucks announced on Thursday morning that rookie goalie Arturs Silovs has been assigned to the AHL Abbotsford Canucks, signaling that Thatcher Demko is again fully healthy after missing nearly a week of action due to back spasms.
Demko, 29, was pulled from action on Jan. 2 in the second period of the game against the Seattle Kraken, where Kevin Lankinen took over and led the Canucks to a dramatic 4-3 shootout win. Demko stopped 11 of 12 shots in 27:49.
Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet later revealed that Demko was dealing with back spasms and that a return timeline was not immediately clear, though the All-Star goalie remained with the team and progressed fast enough to back Lankinen up against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.
Silovs, 23, did not play for the Canucks while Demko was out this time around. He last appeared in an NHL game for Vancouver on Nov. 27, allowing five goals on 23 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Silovs returns to an Abbotsford team that just welcomed injured Canucks defenseman Filip Hronek into the fold; Hronek is in the AHL on a conditioning assignment that will last him a maximum of six days or three games--whichever happens first.
With Demko now apparently healthy again, the Canucks are just waiting on forwards Dakota Joshua, who is currently week-to-week with a lower-body injury, and Elias Pettersson, who was a game-time decision for Wednesday night's game against Washington.
With Silovs off the roster, the Canucks now have the roster spot needed to activate Pettersson from injured reserve.