Just when fans of the Vancouver Canucks were starting to get excited about hockey season being right around the corner, doom and gloom invaded the end of summer.
Reports came out in August that Thatcher Demko, who saw his 2024 playoff run ended ignominiously by his second knee injury of the season, wouldn't be ready for the start of Canucks training camp because his injury rehab was going slower than expected. In fact, it was in doubt whether he would even be ready for the start of the regular season.
That caused some consternation among Canucks fans that was only partially assuaged when more positive reports came out a few weeks later. Sure enough, when camp began on Thursday, Demko was not on the ice with his teammates, though he did skate and go through drills on his own beforehand.
General manager Patrik Allvin chose not to comment on when Demko might be ready to return during his press conference on Wednesday, instead saying that Demko would address the media himself on Thursday.
"This is the most confident that I've been in the rehab process"
When Demko did speak to the media, however, he couldn't provide a timeline for his return, though he made it clear that he was feeling positive about his progress.
"I can't really give you an answer, to be honest," said Demko. "If you had asked me a month ago, I really wouldn't have been able to tell you. I would say that we're on a great trajectory right now. This is the most confident that I've been in the rehab process to date...I'm not going to sit here and give you a timeline because it might create some problems for me."
The biggest problem with providing a timeline is that the injury, which Demko described as a "muscle" injury, isn't a typical injury. He described it as "rare" and "unique" and said he isn't aware of any other hockey players who have ever dealt with the same injury, though their research found a handful of soccer players who dealt with something similar.
"When I first felt the injury, I wasn't too sure what it was and, as we dived into some research and things, it was a little ambiguous," said Demko, adding, "There's a lack of research. I don't know too much about what this looks like, full picture, at the end of this whole process."
He did, however, provide some optimism regarding his long-term health. There were rumours that this injury might be a permanent one and that he would always have to play through it. On the contrary, Demko said that he was fully confident that he would be able to get back to 100 per cent.
"I'm sure it will be a situation, just like anything when you have an injury, it's something you have to keep an eye on and maybe tweak some of your training habits and some of your rehab habits and just stay on top of your maintenance and things like that," he said.
"As a competitor, I think you kind of lie to yourself"
Demko also addressed the question of whether he would have been able to return in the playoffs if the Canucks had made it to the Western Conference Final.
"As a competitor, I think you kind of lie to yourself in a playoff situation," he said. "I thought maybe I was a little bit farther ahead than I was in hindsight. I do think that I would have been in a situation where I probably would have been able to grit through it and maybe get out there and play in the conference final."
That competitive nature is what makes Demko such a great goaltender but it can also be an issue when it comes to staying healthy.
"I think it comes down to a little bit of maturity," said Demko. "I just kind of have one gear and that's just to go as hard as I can and try to get better every day. I'm just learning there's different ways to get better and maintain your system of play and make sure that you stay sharp and, at the same time, taking care of your body.
"I've done a lot of work, working with consultants and things like that this summer to address that. Just kind of picking people's brains about different ways to go about it. It's something that I'm well aware of and something that I'm confident that I can implement this year."
"I can't say enough about my wife for putting up with me"
Demko said that he "hit a wall" during the summer and his rehab saw limited progression for "a couple of months." That lack of progression is why he isn't ready for the start of training camp and has an ambiguous timeline for his return, but he said, "The last two or three weeks, we've seen a ton of progress."
All of this led to a difficult and frustrating summer and not just for Demko.
"I'm sure my wife's sick of hearing about it," he said. "There were times in the summer where, you know, I have a one-year-old and trying to get on the ground and play with him might not be as easy as it should be and that can be frustrating. I can't say enough about my wife for putting up with me and being a huge support for me and the rest of my family as well."
Demko also confirmed that he had another surgical procedure during the offseason.
"During the evaluation of the injury that I had in the playoffs, we noticed some minor thing that had nothing to do with the injury," said Demko. "It was more of a situation where it was something that may flare up during the season, whether it be in November or January. Talking to specialists, the recommendation was to get something done, just to make sure that it wasn't a situation where I had to get it done in December or January."
