Player Discussion Thatcher Demko

[F A N]

Are there any examples of a better 3 game or longer playoff statline in nhl history?

I think Patrick Roy, Dominik Hasek, and or Bill Ranford might have had a similar stretch.

 

[BluesyShoes]

Those 3 games show he has the potential to be great. I would rather gamble on him as the #1 goalie rather than hoping marky can sustain his play for the next 6-7 years.

If anything, these playoffs have shown how important it is to have two starting goalies. Imagine if Demko didn't show well. I think Vegas' gameplan was foiled a bit; they aren't an highly offensively gifted team, and definitely didn't have the book on Demko. Granted Demko played out of this world and handled the volume of shots magnificently. But having two different style goalies gives options, and when one goes down, it's invaluable to have another gamebreaker. Imagine what would have happened if we had to put in an inexperienced DiPietro or a second string veteran who has already been scouted to death.

We need to keep both goalies, especially given our playstyle and since our D isn't going to improve by much this offseason. All we can hope for is a better forecheck and boardplay from the young guys and a greater share of puck possession.

I'd give Marky a good contract he's earned with a limited no trade discount and either move him to a contender he is happy with or send Seattle a package players/picks/prospects/capdump to protect both our goalies, and make either deal before the trade deadline so we won't be handcuffed to lose a goalie at the expansion draft.

Demko is Benning's handpicked goalie of the future. He loves players he scouted (maybe to a fault.) I can't see any way we lose him unless Marky has a Vezina season; even then it is hard.

 

[VanJack]

Lol!....Peter Deboer in his autopsy of the Knights crashing out of the playoffs, blamed Demko....saying that he got into the heads of his shooters and their scoring slump carried over into the Dallas series. Wow! Too bad the Canucks couldn't have found a way to squeeze past Vegas. I actually think they'd have given the Stars a tougher series.

But if the Canucks were to kick the tires on a Demko trade, his value is sky-high right now.

 

[Hammer79]

Lol!....Peter Deboer in his autopsy of the Knights crashing out of the playoffs, blamed Demko....saying that he got into the heads of his shooters and their scoring slump carried over into the Dallas series. Wow! Too bad the Canucks couldn't have found a way to squeeze past Vegas. I actually think they'd have given the Stars a tougher series.

But if the Canucks were to kick the tires on a Demko trade, his value is sky-high right now.

Why would we trade Demko? I mean, unless Irfin Jaffar's reporting is true and Markstrom is close to a Lehner type deal with expansion protection 'being big'. Please please please.... let's not make this mistake.

 

[nergish]

Jacob Markstrom is the second best goaltender in Vancouver Canucks history.
It's not a joke.
K. McLean or R. Brodeur fans may be upset to hear this, but they're all 40+ and have to recognize that the game is different now. Especially the goaltending position.

Having said all that, there's just something lingering underneath all the positive Markstrom has done in the past 2-3 years.
He's 30. It took him so long to get to this point.

He has been so consistent and so dominant at his position for the past 18 months or so, and it's a delight to see.
But Demko has been consistent and dominant his entire life.

These are two players with almost identical draft pedigrees (some of the first goalies taken in their respective drafts), both considered among the very best goaltending prospects in their age group.
That's where their careers start to deviate.

Marky was forced into what was essentially a starter's role in Florida when he was a raw young goalie, and they were a glorified AHL team.
He was shelled, repeatedly. It was tough to watch.
I obviously had no way to anticipate he would end up a Canuck, but I recall being inclined to keep tabs on his career. I thought he was an endlessly intriguing goaltender. That size, that tenacity.
But it just looked like he wasn't going to be able to put it all together.
Luongo asks to go back to Florida, Canucks say "Well, we need to get a goalie back".
I don't think Gillis saw Markstrom as anything more than a roll of the dice.
He basically started ground zero in Utica and built his way back up. Learns a little bit from Ryan Miller, settles in a starter's role, and his career takes off.

Demko on the other hand, has been groomed by Vancouver perfectly and has performed at every single level he's played:
- Starter at Boston College, ten shutouts in his final year. Absolutely dominant Collegiate career.
- Good showing for Team USA at the World Juniors. Exceptional game against Canada, in particular.
- Graduates to the AHL, and quickly (like within 2-3 months) takes over the starting role. He was Utica's shining star on some pretty poor rosters. Performs so admirably at the AHL level as a young player, he gets invited to the World Hockey Championship.
- Transitions to backup end of season (no playoffs), then gets one full season as backup in his official Rookie season.

Thatcher Demko was one of the top 10-15 Rookies in the league this year, guys.
Please stop this narrative "he was inconsistent", "didn't step up when Markstrom was hurt". Even if true, he was a Rookie in the best league in the world. And a very good Rookie at that.

You know what they say about the bird in the hand...
But I don't know how you can vote against TD after everything he's proven so far. Marky is an exceptional goaltender today, but Thatcher has youth and limitless potential on his side.

Going to be a very interesting few weeks in Vancouver.

 

[alicia]

Jacob Markstrom is the second best goaltender in Vancouver Canucks history.
It's not a joke.
K. McLean or R. Brodeur fans may be upset to hear this, but they're all 40+ and have to recognize that the game is different now. Especially the goaltending position.

Having said all that, there's just something lingering underneath all the positive Markstrom has done in the past 2-3 years.
He's 30. It took him so long to get to this point.

He has been so consistent and so dominant at his position for the past 18 months or so, and it's a delight to see.
But Demko has been consistent and dominant his entire life.

These are two players with almost identical draft pedigrees (some of the first goalies taken in their respective drafts), both considered among the very best goaltending prospects in their age group.
That's where their careers start to deviate.

Marky was forced into what was essentially a starter's role in Florida when he was a raw young goalie, and they were a glorified AHL team.
He was shelled, repeatedly. It was tough to watch.
I obviously had no way to anticipate he would end up a Canuck, but I recall being inclined to keep tabs on his career. I thought he was an endlessly intriguing goaltender. That size, that tenacity.
But it just looked like he wasn't going to be able to put it all together.
Luongo asks to go back to Florida, Canucks say "Well, we need to get a goalie back".
I don't think Gillis saw Markstrom as anything more than a roll of the dice.
He basically started ground zero in Utica and built his way back up. Learns a little bit from Ryan Miller, settles in a starter's role, and his career takes off.

Demko on the other hand, has been groomed by Vancouver perfectly and has performed at every single level he's played:
- Starter at Boston College, ten shutouts in his final year. Absolutely dominant Collegiate career.
- Good showing for Team USA at the World Juniors. Exceptional game against Canada, in particular.
- Graduates to the AHL, and quickly (like within 2-3 months) takes over the starting role. He was Utica's shining star on some pretty poor rosters. Performs so admirably at the AHL level as a young player, he gets invited to the World Hockey Championship.
- Transitions to backup end of season (no playoffs), then gets one full season as backup in his official Rookie season.

Thatcher Demko was one of the top 10-15 Rookies in the league this year, guys.
Please stop this narrative "he was inconsistent", "didn't step up when Markstrom was hurt". Even if true, he was a Rookie in the best league in the world. And a very good Rookie at that.

You know what they say about the bird in the hand...
But I don't know how you can vote against TD after everything he's proven so far. Marky is an exceptional goaltender today, but Thatcher has youth and limitless potential on his side.

Going to be a very interesting few weeks in Vancouver.

Excellent write up. Thank you for that.

---

In my personal opinion, it's Demko that we need to move forward with. The team will be hitting their stride in 2-3 years and become legitimate contenders, and we'll want Demko at his prime when this happens. I love Markstrom, I really do but we have to think about the future and Markstroms age doesn't really fit in that future.

 

[ginner classic]

If the Dumba rumors are true, I could see Jimwit packaging Virtanen, Demko and Stecher for Dumba.

 

[lawrence]

If the Dumba rumors are true, I could see Jimwit packaging Virtanen, Demko and Stecher for Dumba.

We can't afford Dumba's contract. He's also not worth 6 million. Dude was on pace for 32 points while having quality ice time and power play time.

 

[VanJack]

I see Post Media is also linking Dumba to the Canucks, now that Jonas Brodin has signed his huge deal. And the Wild GM Bill Guerin is on record as saying he wants to dramatically improve the Wild's goaltending. I'd hate to see Demko go too. But the Canucks blueline is so bad, something has to give. And a trade may be the only way to address it.

 

[mossey3535]

Isn't there already a Demko thread? Can we get a merge?

 

[Bougieman]

After both players being at 5 games played thus far into the season, Demko and Markstrom have nearly identical records. Same amount of wins, and almost the exact same save percentage.

It's going to be hard not to compare them for the rest of the season, and perhaps even beyond that. Will be very interesting to see how it plays out.

 

[iceburg]

After both players being at 5 games played thus far into the season, Demko and Markstrom have nearly identical records. Same amount of wins, and almost the exact same save percentage.

It's going to be hard not to compare them for the rest of the season, and perhaps even beyond that. Will be very interesting to see how it plays out.

I find it interesting that Markstrom has a SV% of 0.97 and GAA of 1 in the two games against Vancouver and a SV% of 0.87 and a GAA of 3.7 in his other 3 games. Very small sample size but interesting. Fits with the narrative that he was highly motivated playing against Vancouver.

 

[canuckking1]

He has the 2nd best SV% among division starters. Only Markstrom is ahead of him

 

[VanJack]

Has the 'playoff bubble' version of Demko returned? A lot of answers could be provided tonight.

But as an aside, both Demko and Holtby are superior puck-handlers. It's such a bonus for d-men when their goaltenders can pass the puck to an open man; or settle it behind the net for an orderly breakout.

This is something Markstrom clearly struggles with.....and you can see it again in some of the early games for the Flames....seems to be an adventure every time he handles the puck in his own zone.

 

[Zippgunn]

He looked solid against Ottawa but then Ottawa are a wretched hockey team playing on the road. Holtby looked solid against them too. Hell I'm betting almost ANYBODY would have looked good against the Sens. Let's see him play some elite teams first before we anoit him the GOAT shall we?

 

[NuxFan09]

He looked solid against Ottawa but then Ottawa are a wretched hockey team playing on the road. Holtby looked solid against them too. Hell I'm betting almost ANYBODY would have looked good against the Sens. Let's see him play some elite teams first before we anoit him the GOAT shall we?

Nobody has annointed him anything. The preemptive "Calm down" post isn't necessary.

 

[sting101]

Jacob Markstrom to Calgary is the thank you for taking Mason McDonald.

 

[Zombotron]

 

[Raistlin]

A big middle finger to McDrai beating up on the helpless OTT defense.

 

[Zippgunn]

Nobody has annointed him anything. The preemptive "Calm down" post isn't necessary.

You are wrong, there are many posters here who are already referring to Holtby at the "4 million dollar backup". There were at least a dozen "Holtby's got to make that save" posts (as well as even a couple of "Holtby sucks" posts) the other night against MTL even though IMHO none of the goals were even remotely "bad" goals... unlike last night's wrong side blooper. Now I say this as a fan of Demko but I think he's is still lacking experience, something that Holtby has in spades. One thing is completely certain: goaltending is NOT our problem, terrible save % numbers aside (lately that is)...

 

[Snatcher Demko]

Demko is doing okay considering the circumstances, and I'm 99% sure Marky would be getting ventilated too under this "15 grade-A chances per game" defensive system we have.

But they have to fix the system fast lest the goaltenders lose confidence completely.

 

[SeawaterOnIce]

Goaltending is very tough nowadays. Tapes and coaching has vastly improved since the 90's. Once a goaltending style and deficiencies are analyzed...you are pretty much screwed until you focus on adjustments and improvements.

Guys like Binnington and Murray have crashed out hard after getting exposed.

 

[VanJack]

In most of the games Demko has played this season, the Canucks as a team have basically hung him out to dry. That game last night could have been 12-3, given the number of 10-bell saves he was forced to make.

Everybody knew that with Markstrom gone, the Canucks would have to tighten up defensively. But so far, they've actually been worse. Holtby must be beginning to wonder what the hell he signed up for.

 

[Zippgunn]

In most of the games Demko has played this season, the Canucks as a team have basically hung him out to dry. That game last night could have been 12-3, given the number of 10-bell saves he was forced to make.

Everybody knew that with Markstrom gone, the Canucks would have to tighten up defensively. But so far, they've actually been worse. Holtby must be beginning to wonder what the hell he signed up for.

The Canucks have hung them BOTH out to dry; remind me again how many breakaways Holby stopped in his last start...

 

[Nona Di Giuseppe]

You are wrong, there are many posters here who are already referring to Holtby at the "4 million dollar backup". There were at least a dozen "Holtby's got to make that save" posts (as well as even a couple of "Holtby sucks" posts) the other night against MTL even though IMHO none of the goals were even remotely "bad" goals... unlike last night's wrong side blooper. Now I say this as a fan of Demko but I think he's is still lacking experience, something that Holtby has in spades. One thing is completely certain: goaltending is NOT our problem, terrible save % numbers aside (lately that is)...

you sayin ppl calling demko "GOAT" and people saying holtby isn't that good aren't the same thing.

and you know we can just click back to see if these 'posts' exist right?