The Vancouver Canucks’ 2014 development camp paid further dividends today, as the Canucks announced the signing of invitee goaltender Michael Garteig to a one-year contract. Along with the signing of Thatcher Demko, the Canucks have drastically improved their depth in goal in the last couple weeks.
Like Troy Stecher, who signed earlier this month, Garteig is from BC, giving him a local connection to the Canucks. They were both invited to the Canucks’ development camp back in July 2014 and the Canucks clearly kept both of them on their radar.
Garteig had a superb BCHL career prior to heading to the NCAA, posting a 41-win season with the record-breaking 2011-12 Penticton Vees and twice getting named the top goaltender in the league. Stecher, incidentally, was also a member of the 2011-12 Penticton Vees.
After his freshman year as a backup, Garteig was nearly as impressive with Quinnipiac in the NCAA as he was in the BCHL. He was a Canucks invitee after his sophomore season and he received more high praise than Nicolas Cage.
He was named the ECAC goalie of the month in both October and November and was named the goalie of the week five times throughout the season. With 6 shutouts, he also broke a Quinnipiac record for most shutouts held by the goalie he backed up as a freshman, Eric Hartzell.
His former coach describes him as “athletic, big, mobile, and intense” and Chris Kotsopoulos, who works on Quinnipiac’s broadcast team, said, “He’s very quick, he knows his angles, he has a good glove and blocker” and added “he has some of the best pad work for a butterfly goalie that I’ve seen in a long time.”
In the two seasons since, Garteig has only gotten better, improving his save percentage each year. This past season, he put up a .924 save percentage and 1.91 goals against average, while posting 8 shutouts, second in the NCAA behind only his new teammate, Thatcher Demko.
Garteig, incidentally, is the goaltender that knocked Demko out of the Frozen Four, making 34 saves against Boston College, including a stunning glove save in the dying seconds to secure the win. He was unable to withstand the offensive onslaught from Brock Boeser and North Dakota in the final game, however, as he fell short of winning the championship for the second time in his college career.
While Garteig leaves school without an NCAA championship, he had a superb college career and one that demonstrated his diligence and hard work: he completed his bachelor degree in December and worked on graduate level courses in his final semester. On the ice, he broke the Quinnipiac record for career shutouts and led Quinnipiac to one of the best seasons in college hockey history in his senior year.
Signing someone like Garteig was essential for the Canucks this off-season. Demko isn’t just the only blue-chip goaltending prospect in the Canucks system; he’s the only goaltending prospect in the Canucks system. Adding Garteig, a goaltender with tremendous skill and ability, has no downside.
Garteig is four years older than Demko and is signed to just a one-year contract, so he won’t be a barrier to Demko’s development. With Richard Bachman signed through next season, Demko will likely split starts with the veteran in the AHL, while Garteig is expected to be a starter in the ECHL, where he’ll get a chance to prove himself and earn his way up the ranks.
Given how common injuries are, Garteig will likely get his chance to play some games in the AHL next season and who knows what the future holds? Someday, he could be trading starts with Demko as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
