The NHL celebrated Goalie Week last week, honouring the most unique position in hockey with a series of videos, articles, and social media posts.
Unfortunately, while the Vancouver Canucks' social platforms were following the leaguewide mandate to celebrate Goalie Week, their actual goaltenders were the subject of consternation across the fanbase.
It started with news breaking that Thatcher Demko's rehab from the knee injury that knocked him out of the playoffs is going more slowly than anticipated and he is expected to miss the start of training camp as well as the preseason and might even miss the start of the regular season. Then came the news out of Latvia that Arturs Silovs was held out of his country's roster for Olympic qualifiers as he deals with "knee ligament inflammation" that carried the risk of turning into a "chronic injury."
Fortunately, the first week after Goalie Week has brought with it a little bit of positivity. According to a report by ChekTV's Rick Dhaliwal, Demko is back on the ice, suggesting significant process has been made in his rehab.
"Some good news: I am hearing that Thatcher Demko is back skating and working out on the ice this week," said Dhaliwal in a video posted to Twitter. "That's a very good sign. Many thought Demko would not be ready for training camp and preseason — his rehab this summer was a little bit slower than most wanted and expected but Demko skating in the last few days has got to be a major boost to the Canucks and a sign of progress."
To be clear, Demko working out on the ice does not mean he'll necessarily be ready for training camp or even the regular season. it's in Demko's best interests, as well as the Canucks', for him to take his time before returning to game action to ensure that he is 100% healthy. One has to wonder if Demko's "aggressive" approach — his own words — to rehabbing his initial knee injury last season played a role in suffering another knee injury so quickly after his return.
Training camp is just over two weeks away. A lot can change in that time, so we'll see if Demko takes part in full practices at camp or if he skates on his own.
Dhaliwal also noted that the Canucks are still pursuing free agent goaltender Kevin Lankinen, which suggests the Canucks are also uncertain about Demko's timeline. That said, adding Lankinen might not be a bad idea even if Demko is ready to play, as the news of the past two weeks has shown just how important goaltending depth can be.
As for Silovs, he's on his way to Vancouver, where the team should get a better idea of how serious his knee inflammation is.
"Silovs left Latvia today," said Dhaliwal. "He should arrive in Vancouver soon and get checked out by the Canucks' doctors."
