Thatcher Demko and his medical team have spent the last few months scouring the globe, trying to find other hockey players whosa国际传媒檝e dealt with the same muscle injury the Vancouver Canucks goalie is currently working through.

It turns out Demkosa国际传媒檚 situation is exceptionally unique.

While they found about five soccer players with the same lower-body ailment, they could not find a single other hockey player.

sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 been wild,sa国际传媒� Demko said Thursday. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 been part of the frustration, just not having a ton of information and yousa国际传媒檙e kind of just going in blindfolded. And it can be scary at times.sa国际传媒�

The 28-year-old all star was not on the ice with his teammates Thursday as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., but he skated on his own before the sessions began.

When, exactly, hesa国际传媒檒l be ready to play remains to be seen.

sa国际传媒淚 would say that wesa国际传媒檙e on a great trajectory right now,sa国际传媒� the netminder said. sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 the most confident that Isa国际传媒檝e been in the rehab process up to date.sa国际传媒�

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season, despite missing several weeks with a knee injury.

He first felt the current injury during Vancouversa国际传媒檚 first playoff game last season, a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators where he made 29 saves.

The ailment kept Demko out for the rest of the post-season as the Canucks bested the Predators in a six-game set before falling to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of a second-round series.

If Vancouver had made it through to the Western Conference final, Demko said he likely would have played sa国际传媒� whether he was completely ready or not.

sa国际传媒淎s a competitor, you kind of lie to yourself in a playoff situation and I thought maybe I was a little further ahead than I was in hindsight,sa国际传媒� he said.

sa国际传媒淚 will say that I kind of hit a bit of a wall in the summer as far as recovery went. And we did see a little bit of a lack of progress there for a couple of months. sa国际传媒� But I would say the last two or three weeks, wesa国际传媒檝e seen a ton of progress.sa国际传媒�

Recovering hasnsa国际传媒檛 been a linear process, Demko said, and being sidelined for training camp was never part of the plan.

sa国际传媒淚 think missing playoff games last year was definitely the low point in my career mentally, spiritually,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚f you had asked me when I was going home for the summer if Isa国际传媒檇 be ready for camp, I would have said sa国际传媒榊eah, 100 per cent.sa国际传媒�

sa国际传媒淚 cansa国际传媒檛 sit around and think poor me that Isa国际传媒檓 not out there. Obviously, I want to be out there. I want to be competing with the guys. I want to be leading by example, I want to help the young guys coming in. sa国际传媒� But this is the hand Isa国际传媒檓 dealing with right now.sa国际传媒�

Uncertainty around the injury has brought a lot of frustration, Demko added, particularly when he cansa国际传媒檛 get on the ground to play with his one-year-old son.

Still, he believes that heading into his eighth NHL season, hesa国际传媒檒l get back to sa国际传媒�100 per cent.sa国际传媒�

Maintaining that form, though, may require some tweaks to his training regime.

sa国际传媒淚 think it comes down to just a little bit of maturity. Quite frankly, I just kind of have one gear and thatsa国际传媒檚 just to go as hard as I can and try to get better every day,sa国际传媒� Demko said. sa国际传媒淎nd Isa国际传媒檓 just learning that theresa国际传媒檚 different ways to get better and maintain your system of play and make sure that you stay sharp and at the same time as taking care of your body.sa国际传媒�