One Californian Goalie to Another: John Blue Reflects on Thatcher Demko’s Playoff Performance
- Updated: September 25, 2020
(Photo credit: Blue/Upper Deck Hockey Card 1993-94 #74; Demko/The Canadian Press)
Whether tomorrow, next week or 20 years from now, 2020 will forever go down in Stanley Cup Playoff lore as the most unusual postseason ever. From empty arenas to playing through August and September, the 2020 playoffs have been like no other, and will likely be unlike any future postseason in the NHL.
Demko (Sergei Belski/USA Today Sports)
As unique as this time period was, however, the 2020 playoffs will also be remembered for the outstanding offensive play of a plethora of unsung heroes from Brayden Point and Shea Theodore to Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat. With great offense, though, comes a great defense and the latter was put on display by, among others, one netminder who, with no prior playoff experience next to his name, put up unthinkable numbers in relief against one of the NHL’s top teams.
In the second round of the 2020 playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks, down 3-1 in their series to the Vegas Golden Knights, sat starting netminder Jacob Markstrom in favour of Thatcher Demko, who was preparing for his first-ever playoff appearance.
It was a risk that resulted in reward.
John Blue (HHOF Legends of Hockey)
Demko stonewalled the Golden Knights in the next two games to force Game 7. Yet, despite falling short in the series-deciding game, Demko nonetheless made his mark, stopping an incredible 130 of 132 shots he faced in his three games for a .985 save percentage a 0.64 goals-against average.
Even more, Demko, a San Diego native, became only the second California-born goaltender in NHL history to appear in the playoffs — and the first in 27 years when Huntington Beach native John Blue made his own playoff debut.
I recently had the privilege of speaking with John Blue who shared his thoughts on Thatcher Demko’s play this postseason.
“I don’t know how you couldn’t like the way he played,” Blue said. “I’ve followed Thatcher for a little while now.”
Blue’s earliest interaction with the Canucks netminder, though, came when Demko was just a teenager. Initially discouraged to play against Blue and his peers, Demko persevered, showing why he was more than capable of keeping up with the older, more seasoned group.
“A number of years ago when [Demko] was probably 15 or 16, we had a group of pros that would play together and he came out there,” Blue began. “And he asked Craig Lyon, who owned a rink there, ‘Can I come out and play with you guys?’, and he said, ‘There are a lot of ex-pros here, some really good players, you’re 15, 16. I don’t think it’d be good for you.’”
Demko with Boston College
(Chris O’Meara/AP Photo)
The rejection did not faze the youngster as, with a bit of perseverance, Demko showed why he was more than capable of keeping up with the older, more seasoned group.
“He continued to prep and finally, [our group] let him out and the kid was legit. At 15, he’s hanging. Then, you watch him go into college and, you know, what you don’t see at all are 18-year-olds stepping into major competition and having an impact. The kid stepped in pretty quickly and had an impact [at Boston College].
To watch him [make the Frozen Four], to come out of [Boston College], then just waiting for his chance. You knew he was going to get his chance. He’s too good. He’s 6-foot-4, he’s calm, moves so well and is just so confident. I thought he played just superbly in the playoffs and is just fun to watch.”
While watching the 24-year-old’s solid play against the Golden Knights was certainly enjoyable for him, Demko’s performance stirred up memories of Blue’s own playoff experience as a member of the Boston Bruins.
“Going back, and I was watching his play against Vegas and being the only [California-born NHL playoff goaltender] since me, I was thinking back to when I played in the playoffs.
John Blue
(HHOF Legends of Hockey)
“We played against Buffalo when I was with Boston [in 1993]. We were the No. 1 seed and they were No. 8 and they swept us — it was the famous ‘May Day’ goal.
Referring to Hall-of-Fame broadcaster Rick Jeanneret’s iconic call of Brad May’s overtime goal that eliminated the Bruins, Blue was a spectator when the veteran beat netminder Andy Moog to complete the upset for the Sabres. Still, the Huntington Beach native did see action in that series.
“I played half of Game 2 and all of Game 3, then we lost in overtime [in Game 3] on a Dale Hawerchuk goal.”
While he may not have had the same success as his statesman did a few weeks ago, the 54-year-old was nonetheless quick to point out how stressful a situation it is for a green goaltender to be thrown to the proverbial slaughter. It’s because of this, though, that Blue couldn’t help but be in awe of Demko’s playoff performance.
“It’s nerve-racking, obviously,” Blue emphasized. “You’re stepping into your first experience in a playoff game like that and it wasn’t unlike the situation in Vancouver. We had been down to Buffalo, who we should’ve beaten, and Moog struggled. So, they threw me in there and, not that Markstrom struggled but [Demko] stepped in to kind of take over and give the Canucks a spark, and I thought he did fantastic. It was fun to watch him. He’s solid technically, he’s big, he’s confident and I really enjoyed it. It was really great to see.”
Thatcher Demko (The Canadian Press/ Darryl Dyck)
With Jacob Markstrom set to become an unrestricted free agent, there are a few questions regarding the future in goal for the Vancouver Canucks. Whether Thatcher Demko will become the team’s new starter is one of those questions. Of course, while we may not know the answer, the certainty of Demko’s capability is as clear as day.
While it was just three games, the 6-foot-4, 192-pound goaltender gave one of the top Stanley Cup favourites a reason to sweat, pushing them to the unexpected brink of elimination. Yet, while the Golden Knights did persevere and win their series against Vancouver, Thatcher Demko was nonetheless the hottest topic of the series as we were all witness to the San Diego native’s stock rise tenfold.
For John Blue, Thatcher Demko’s dominance brought back a plethora of fond memories, filling the goaltender-turned-pastor with enormous pride not only for the 24-year-old but for the present overall contingent of Californians in the National Hockey League.
In a brief period of time during the 2020 playoffs, Thatcher Demko came, saw and conquered, setting up a prelude of what to expect for, quite possibly, years to come.
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