Canucks fans already had six current Canucks to keep an eye on at the 2016 World Championship of Hockey. Now they might be able to watch a future Canuck as well, as Thatcher Demko has been added to the roster for Team USA.
It’s an exciting chance for Demko, who is potentially being groomed for a future role with Team USA in the future for the Olympics, World Cup, or World Championships. The question is whether he’ll even play during this year’s tournament.
In the last few year, USA Hockey has brought a young goaltender for the experience with no expectation that they actually appear in a game.
Last year it was Alex Lyon, coming off a strong season for Yale; he sat on the bench as the backup for one game, but didn’t play. He returned to Yale and had another great season, then was signed by the Philadelphia Flyers as a free agent.
In 2014, 20-year-old Jets prospect Connor Hellebuyck was the third USA goaltender. He didn’t even backup a single game, but went on to be the starter in 2015.
In 2013, it was then-Flyers prospect Cal Heeter, for some reason. Honestly, he was coming off a mediocre season in the AHL, I’m not sure why they picked him. In any case, he didn’t even dress for a game.
So, it’s pretty likely that Demko won’t play. But even if he doesn’t, it should still be a great opportunity for Demko to travel, see a bit of Russia, and get some extra coaching and practice, as well as get in the good books with USA Hockey. Not that his stellar World Junior performance last year didn’t already do that.
Here’s the thing, though: the other two goaltenders on Team USA are Keith Kinkaid and Mike Condon, neither of whom are particularly good.
Kinkaid backed up Cory Schneider in New Jersey this past season. He had a decent college career and has been pretty good in the AHL the last couple seasons, but he was thoroughly mediocre with the Devils this season, posting a .904 save percentage.
Condon had to step into a tough situation in Montreal with Carey Price injured for most of the season. Without Price, the Canadiens were terrible and Condon was part of the problem, putting up a .903 save percentage.
Among goaltenders who played at least 1000 minutes this season, Condon and Kinkaid have the fifth and sixth worst save percentages in the NHL. There were some established NHLers with only slightly better stats this season, such as Antti Niemi and Jimmy Howard, but they have past track records that suggest this season was an anomaly. Condon and Kinkaid don’t have that in their favour.
If both Kinkaid and Condon falter early in the tournament, will head coach John Hynes turn to Demko, this year’s Mike Richter Award winner for best goaltender in the NCAA? Or will Demko get to dress for one game as the backup, but have to step in when the starter gets shelled, giving him a chance to prove himself on the ice?
Perhaps not. Perhaps Hynes, who coached the Devils this year, will stick with the goaltender he's familiar with in Kinkaid. But there is a chance that seeing how he compares to current NHLers Condon and Kinkaid will convince Demko that he has what it takes to play in the NHL right now and he’ll hurry back to North America after the tournament to immediately sign a contract with the Canucks.
