Thatcher Demko

Thatcher Demko was born in San Diego, California on December 8, 1995 — not the most conventional hockey origin for a goaltender who would go on to become the undisputed starter for the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks selected him in the second round, sixth pick of that round, 36th overall, in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Demko's path to becoming Vancouver's full-time starter was a gradual one. He made his NHL debut in 2017-18, appearing in a single game and earning a win. The following season he appeared in nine games, going 4-3 with a 2.81 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. In 2019-20, he stepped into a larger role, starting 27 games and finishing 13-10 with a .905 save percentage.

The 2020-21 season marked a turning point. Demko appeared in 35 games, going 16-18, and posted a .915 save percentage despite the losses — a workload and performance that confirmed his standing as the team's number one. The following season, 2021-22, he took on one of the heavier workloads in the league, starting 64 games and going 33-22 with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage, with one shutout. That 64-game appearance total represents the high-water mark of his career in terms of games played in a single season.

The 2022-23 season was interrupted by injury. A groin problem kept him out for close to three months, limiting him to 32 games and a 14-14 record, with a 3.16 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. His return from that injury, during which he went 4-1-0 with a .928 save percentage in five of six starts, coincided with his debut in the InGoal Pro Reads format — a series that would grow into one of the most extensive in that program's history.

The 2023-24 season was the statistical peak of his career to date. Demko appeared in 51 games, went 35-14, posted a 2.45 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage, and recorded five shutouts — all career highs across those categories. That season also saw him spoken of as a Vezina Trophy candidate heading into the playoffs, a berth he had been central to securing before an in-season injury temporarily sidelined him.

The two seasons since have seen reduced availability. In 2024-25, Demko started 23 games, going 10-8 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .889 save percentage. Through 20 games of the current 2025-26 campaign he is 8-10 with a 2.90 goals-against average and .897 save percentage. Across 262 career NHL games, he carries a record of 134-99-21, a 2.81 career goals-against average, a .909 career save percentage, and 10 shutouts.

InGoal Magazine has covered Thatcher Demko in two podcast appearances, twelve Pro Reads, and one drill breakdown.

Demko's first podcast appearance came in January 2019 on an early episode of the InGoal Radio podcast ^[1]. His second — Episode 136, recorded ahead of the 2021-22 season with Kevin Woodley — is described in the show notes as one of the most popular episodes the podcast has ever produced, covering his journey through the bubble and into the role of Vancouver's number one starter ^[2].

His Pro Reads series, conducted with Kevin Woodley over a lengthy sit-down session, begins with a breakdown of an odd-man rush against the Buffalo Sabres ^[3] and continues immediately into a second installment examining an in-zone sequence against Patrick Kane and the Chicago Blackhawks ^[4]. In that first entry, Demko talked about where his reads begin: "The first thing that goes for me is my eyes. Before anything else moves, my eyes are going first and then I can make my read."

The series extends through twelve installments available to InGoal members, covering rush management, post play, the Reverse and Reverse-VH, screen management, breakaway reads, and depth control — topics Demko addresses with a precision and openness that the Pro Reads introductions note repeatedly. A breakdown of how he reads screens during a penalty kill against the Minnesota Wild ^[5], two consecutive entries on his use of the Reverse ^{[6] [7]}, and a sequence involving a Calgary Flames power play featuring Johnny Gaudreau ^[8] are among the subjects he walks through in detail. His thinking on alignment while in his Reverse — "I want to be in alignment beneficial for all situations" — runs through several entries as a recurring theme ^[8].

In entries eleven and twelve, recorded the following season while he was among the Vezina Trophy leaders through the first half of the year, Demko broke down his approach to managing breakaways, including the role his own defensemen play in his read: "I find on this one for me if he pulls this to shoot, he's going to get caught. That's one where you know he's going to deke" ^{[9] [10]}.

Beyond the Pro Reads series, InGoal captured Demko on ice with Canucks goaltending coach Ian Clark for a drill breakdown focused on what Clark calls "Lateral Touch" — a series of short, medium, and long butterfly recovery drills designed to develop consistent technique across different distances ^[11]. Clark and Demko each walk through the reasoning behind the drill construction, with Demko explaining the connection between training habits and late-game execution: "When you are most tired, you're going to fall back on your highest level of training" ^[11].

All twelve Pro Reads sessions are available to InGoal subscribers in the archive, along with the drill breakdown and both podcast appearances.