Demko gives underdog Utica a chance
Canucks’ top goalie prospect has been outstanding for Utica Comets in AHL playoffs
UTICA, N.Y. — In 20 years of bouncing around the minors, first as a stayat-home defenceman, then an assistant coach and finally a head coach, Trent Cull has watched the rise and fall of any number of goalie prospects.
So when the conversation turns to Thatcher Demko, Cull can speak to the subject with some authority.
Anyone can watch the Utica Comets’ goalie for five minutes, Cull says, and see he’s been blessed by the hockey gods with all the physical attributes required of an elite netminder.
But watch him over a season in the AHL grind, then watch him in his first professional playoff experience against the league’s best team, as Cull has, and what sets the kid from San Diego apart has nothing to do with his 6-4 frame or his quickness from post-to-post.
Instead, it’s the one quality that determines success in the game’s most demanding position. And Cull, the Comets’ head coach, will tell you his guy has it in spades.
“You can see all the tools,” says Cull. “But he’s got the makeup. With goalies, if one goal throws you off it’s a tough life for you. But things roll off his back.
“When he has that calm demeanour, it puts serenity in your team. We’re going to compete and we’re going to have our emotion but it’s nice to know when you make a mistake Thatcher is going to be there.”
And now the Comets need him to be there one more time against the Toronto Marlies.
Demko, the Canucks’ elite goaltending prospect, put his stamp on the underdog Comets’ best-of-five playoff series with the Marlies with a pair of rock-star performances as his team faced elimination.
Down 2-0 after back-to-back losses in Toronto, the Comets recorded two straight 5-2 wins in Games 3 and 4 on home ice with Demko stopping 67 of 71 shots for a tidy .943 save percentage.
Game 5 is set for this afternoon and while the host Marlies have had the territorial edge for much of the series, the deciding game essentially comes down to a goaltending duel between Demko and the Marlies’ Garret Sparks.
Doesn’t it always in the playoffs? “You have to figure this is as close to NHL hockey as he’s going to get here,” says Cull. “It’s a real good building block for him and all the younger guys. You talk about the mental aspects, you have to stay in it all the time and I think he’s done a real good job there.”
Demko has been on the Canucks’ radar since he was taken in the second round of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft. After a starry career at Boston College, he’s put in two seasons in Utica which raises a question about where he’ll play next season.
But he’ll get there soon enough. Demko pivoted away from questions about his future, saying simply: “I’m in the playoffs right now. That’s all I’m thinking about.”
Still, it’s his performance in these playoffs that might accelerate his rise to the NHL. In his three years at Boston College, the Eagles made two appearances in the NCAA’s Frozen Four. That gave Demko a taste of centre stage, as did his one NHL game with the Canucks late in the season, and he now says he calls on those experiences in the battle against the Marlies.
“I think I learned a lot from playing in those Frozen Four games,” he says. “We weren’t able to win those games and it’s still something I think about. You have to learn how to play in big games and must-win games. I’ve been in quite a few of those and (in Games 3 and 4) it was small picture. Just staying in the moment.”
It was a similar story in his first NHL start back in late March when Demko was hustled from Utica to Vancouver for a Saturday matinee with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Through 56 minutes he was superb as the Canucks built a 4-1 lead. The Blue Jackets then scored four late goals in 2½ minutes ruining a perfectly good storyline before the Canucks won in overtime.
“I’m the same guy but you get better though experience,” says Demko. “Even playing these games in the playoffs you’re getting better for some time down the line when you do it again. It’s putting money in the bank, just trying to learn as much as you can from different experiences, different situations.”
It helps that in Utica he’s shared the net with AHL veteran Richard Bachman the last two seasons. Bachman, a 30-year-old family man, is in his ninth pro season, has played 47 NHL games with three different organizations and is the perfect partner for his younger colleague.
“I think he’s taken a big step this season, especially mentally,” says Bachman. “The biggest thing is he’s been good every single night which is hard to do as a young kid.”
As to the question of Demko’s future, Cull offered an interesting scenario for next season. When he was an assistant in Syracuse, the Crunch had Tampa starter and Vezina finalist Andrei Vasilevskiy for his first two years of pro. His first season Vasilevskiy played 25 games in Syracuse and 15 with Tampa.
The next season he played 12 in Syracuse and 24 with the Lightning before taking over the starting job two years ago. Cull sees something similar for Demko next season.
“He’ll find a way to get his games up top,” he says. “He’ll be in his third year. He still has to play as much as possible. There’s no point in him being stagnant. He has to play. That’s part of his development. I can see him racking up some air miles next season.”
And racking up those experiences, more money in the bank.