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Thatcher Demko in Canucks gear demonstrates butterfly balance during 4x rotation drill in practice

Four Times Rotation added to Game Day Routine by Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko

Kevin Woodley | | 3 min read
Key Takeaways
  • Four Times Rotation chains four sequential butterfly rotations and pushes without anchoring, training goalies to change direction while already in motion.
  • Thatcher Demko credits the drill with improving his butterfly balance by reinforcing high hips, early eyes, and upper-body control during rotation.
  • Goalie coach Ian Clark designed the drill around 'moving rotations,' meaning the goalie never fully stops between pushes, mirroring the pace of dynamic puck movement in games.
  • Early eye tracking — moving the eyes to the next puck before the body arrives — is a core coaching point Demko highlights from the drill.
  • The drill requires two shooters: one between the face-off circles and one in-close at the short-side post, creating realistic multi-angle shot pressure.

Goaltenders are famously creatures of habit, so when Vancouver Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko added a new drill to his established game-day routine this season, our eyes naturally widened.

The drill is called Four Times Rotation, and Demko and Canucks goalie coach Ian Clark explain it for us below, but first see if you can track the four rotations in this quick sample video:

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