If you go back to the beginning of the season, the Vancouver Canucks’ goaltending depth looked shaky. Thatcher Demko was the Vezina-caliber starter. But he has to play to be effective. Unfortunately for the Canucks, his health is poor. In fact, his injury status has contributed to the Canucks’ downfall this season. In my books, they are better than their win-loss record suggests.
Things were even messier behind Demko. Last season, Artūrs Šilovs ran out of waiver options, leaving the Canucks in a corner. Possibly, he was moved to Pittsburgh rather than losing him for nothing through waivers. That felt like a blow at the time because most Canucks fans believed he was the future.
Suddenly, with Šilovs elsewhere, what seemed like a promising pipeline was thanks to Demko, an experienced backup in Kevin Lankinen, and a young Belarusian kid in Abbotsford named Nikita Tolopilo. And if I tell the truth, I knew absolutely nothing about Tolopilo.
While the Canucks’ record has fallen, there is good news
Funny how quickly things can change.
To his credit, Lankinen has done what good backups do: he competes. He keeps the team in games they probably shouldn’t be playing in. But he’s overworked. With Demko out, Lankinen is being leaned on as a starter, and that’s not his job. When the team ahead of him ran out of gas (as I saw them do against the Red Wings), so did he. And that is the creeping fear. “Here we go again, the Canucks and their goaltending circus.”
And then, out of nowhere, Tolopilo comes in as easily as changing a diaper. (He and his wife had their first child last week – a daughter.)
Tolopilo has given his team a chance to win
Take Monday evening. The Red Wings had the game wrapped up long before he got the tap on the shoulder. That’s the worst situation for a young goalkeeper: cold legs, cold brain, no rhythm, no warm-up and tons of pressure. Most guys fight the puck, overplay everything, and look like they’re trying to survive for ten minutes straight.
Tolopilo didn’t blink. He stopped all six shots he faced. The only goal that period was an empty-netter. In fact, he didn’t look upset. Not once. Four games later, 92 saves on 101 shots, and somehow he’s sitting at a .911 save percentage behind a team that has given up outright chances like they’re hosting a neighborhood open house. Those aren’t bad numbers for a young goalie entering NHL chaos.
Here’s what people sometimes forget: development isn’t just about winning games or stealing jobs. It’s about showing your organization that when thrown in at the deep end, you can tread water. Tolopilo did that. Quiet, professional, without fuss.
If Demko returns, Tolopilo will go to the AHL
When Demko returns, Tolopilo heads back to Abbotsford. That’s fine. But there’s good news now, because the Canucks know something they didn’t know three months ago. They have a young goalkeeper who can play. And he’s good enough to make a difference now.
Suddenly that goalkeeper pipeline that looked like a burst hose in October? It’s starting to look like a real system again. Demko is the elite starter. Lankinen is the steady veteran. Tolopilo is the rising youngster with size, composure and a ‘just give me pucks’ attitude.
If the Canucks can ever get all three goaltenders healthy at the same time, this could become one of the strongest trios in the league.
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