Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko says he is been working his manner again from a rare lower-body muscle injury since being sidelined in final season’s playoffs.
The 28-year-old all-star says the rehabilitation course of has been irritating, however he has made good progress in current weeks and is assured he’ll be capable to return to enjoying.
He says he and his medical staff have spent the previous couple of months speaking to specialists all over the world, and haven’t discovered a single different hockey participant who has handled the identical injury.
Demko missed a number of weeks of the final season with a knee ailment and performed only one recreation in Vancouver’s playoff run final spring earlier than taking place with the present injury.
Experienced sportswriter Ed Willes has written a brand new e book known as Never Boring: The Up and Down History of the Vancouver Canucks. Willes argues that, regardless of the Canucks usually breaking the hearts of their devoted followers, the staff’s exploits on and off the ice imply they’re by no means boring to observe.
He was not on the ice along with his teammates because the Canucks began coaching camp in Penticton, B.C., on Thursday, however skated on his personal earlier than the periods started.
Demko posted a 35-14-2 document with a .918 proportion, a 2.45 goals-against common and 5 shutouts for Vancouver final season.
Tough season forward: coach
Demko is not the one participant to overlook coaching camp: Winger Dakota Joshua wasn’t current as he recovers from surgical procedure for testicular most cancers.
The staff has additionally introduced that veteran centre Teddy Blueger and defensive prospect Cole McWard may also miss the beginning of coaching camp after every had “minor lower-body surgery.”
But head coach Rick Tocchet says he has loads to work with on the staff, and he plans to change his traces up rather a lot in Penticton.
“Nothing’s set in stone,” he mentioned. “I think it’s important that you have different puzzles at different times.”
Tocchet additionally mentioned he has warned his staff of a tricky season forward.
The Canucks completed atop the Pacific Division with a 50-23-9 document final season, then ousted the Nashville Predators from the playoffs in a gritty, six-game first-round sequence. Vancouver then fell to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game second-round set.
“To get to the next plateau, there are higher expectations, and it’s going to be hard. We know that,” Tocchet mentioned.
Last fall, Jim Rutherford, the Canucks president of hockey operations, mentioned every thing must go proper for the staff to make a playoff push. That does not change this season, he mentioned, regardless of final yr’s success.
“The challenges will be greater, certainly. But I believe the team that we started with last year, we have just as good a team to start the season this year and probably better,” he mentioned.
“As long as the team builds off what they did last year, stick to what the coaches tell them, stick to the system, stick together in good times and bad times, this team has a chance to do pretty well.”
