ProTips: Thatcher Demko and the Vancouver Canucks Warm-Up Routine

March 28, 2021

Thatcher Demko has been one of the hottest goalies in the NHL in March, so now seemed like a perfect time to take a closer look at how the Vancouver Canucks emerging star gets ready on game day with goaltending coach Ian Clark.

As you’ll see in the videos below, Demko starts his preparation with a series of crease movement patterns, not unlike the preparations Winnipeg Jets goalie Laurent Brossoit shared earlier this month. From there, it’s on to static shooting work to get the hands warmed up, which will be familiar to anyone who has watched an NHL morning skate or read our introduction to this series on NHL warm ups featuring Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens.

What sets the Canucks routine apart, however, is some of the movement into shots that follows that static work to warm up the hands. So we wanted to get some insights as to why – and shooter specifics on how – they do those drills.

First, though, we’ll start with the crease movement work: