Rick Tocchet may have lost his starting goaltender in Thatcher Demko for three-to-four weeks with an apparent knee injury but the Canucks head coach certainly hasnsa国际传媒檛 lost his sense of humor.
During his media availability session after a morning practice at Rogers Arena on Tuesday, Tocchet was in an engaging mood when it came to the topic of goaltending in general.
When asked by this agent about goalie Casey DeSmithsa国际传媒檚 makeup and how it would impact his ability to transform from a back-up to the starter for the next few weeks, Tocchetsa国际传媒檚 answer had the media contingent chuckling.
sa国际传媒淗esa国际传媒檚 well-liked. Isa国际传媒檝e been in the league some 40 years or whatever, but when you like the goalie, you tend to block more shots for the guy. I donsa国际传媒檛 know why. Isa国际传媒檝e had some goalies where Isa国际传媒檓 not a big fan of the guy. Isa国际传媒檓 not saying I kind of veered out of the way but when you like a goalie, yousa国际传媒檒l really dive in (front of a shot),sa国际传媒� said Tocchet drawing some laughs from the assembled media. sa国际传媒淭hose guys love Casey. So yousa国际传媒檒l see a lot of guys willing to block shots sa国际传媒� like they do for Demmer
Then a few minutes later when asked if the team would be a little bit more cognizant about the defensive side of the game with DeSmith in goal, Tocchet came up with some more material.
sa国际传媒淒o I want to put him in a bad situation by turning the puck over and they get a three-on-one? I think those guys are conscious of that. Casey has done a lot for us. He doesnsa国际传媒檛 play a ton or all the time. Hesa国际传媒檚 a great guy. I think that comes into play. Then the guy dumps it in because he likes him. I donsa国际传媒檛 know if that makes sense,sa国际传媒� said Tocchet as the media chuckled.
sa国际传媒淪o if a guy doesnsa国际传媒檛 dump it in tomorrow and itsa国际传媒檚 a three-on-one yousa国际传媒檙e going to say he doesnsa国际传媒檛 like the guy.sa国际传媒�
All kidding aside, losing a Vezina Trophy candidate in Demko is no joke but perhaps Tocchetsa国际传媒檚 mood gave us some perspective on how hesa国际传媒檚 feeling about Demkosa国际传媒檚 injury and the confidence that he has in DeSmith.
The official word from Tocchet on Demkosa国际传媒檚 injury is sa国际传媒渓ower-body, week-to-weeksa国际传媒� but Canucks Nation biggest fear sa国际传媒� that Demko wouldnsa国际传媒檛 be ready for the playoffs sa国际传媒� wasnsa国际传媒檛 even on the head coachsa国际传媒檚 radar.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檓 not worried about that at all,sa国际传媒� answered Tocchet, adding that the upcoming time off for Demko was actually a positive given his workload this season.
As for DeSmith, this isnsa国际传媒檛 the first time hesa国际传媒檚 been called upon to be the number one goalie and those previous experiences with the Pittsburgh Penguins give him full confidence moving forward.
sa国际传媒淚sa国际传媒檝e done this a couple of times in my career just filling in for injury and getting the net for a little while. Isa国际传媒檝e always enjoyed the experience and had some good success in the past when Isa国际传媒檝e had the net for a couple of weeks, so Isa国际传媒檓 looking forward to it. I have my job to do and Isa国际传媒檓 just a very small part of the big picture, so I try to worry about my little part and not the big picture,sa国际传媒� DeSmith said.
With Demko out of the lineup, the Canucks have summoned Arturs Silovs from their AHL farm team in Abbotsford where the 22-year-old Latvian was enjoying a solid season posting a 2.74 GAA to go along with a .907 save percentage in 32 games.
sa国际传媒淚 remember last year when we called him up, the second and third game you could see the improvement in Silovs so I think itsa国际传媒檚 good that he gets a taste of it up here,sa国际传媒� said Tocchet.
Despite Silovsa国际传媒檚 success this season, this is DeSmithsa国际传媒檚 time.
sa国际传媒淎s of now, wesa国际传媒檙e just going game-to-game. Caseysa国际传媒檚 definitely going to get the next two games and wesa国际传媒檒l go from there. I think Casey deserves the chance to get the ball and take it,sa国际传媒� explained Tocchet.
OVERTIME
* DeSmith says the biggest adjustment hesa国际传媒檚 going to have to make in his new role is how he handles practice time. sa国际传媒淧ractices are a little different. Isa国际传媒檒l get a couple of more sessions in with Clarkie (goaltending coach Ian Clark) than maybe I would normally. Then not staying on after (practice) as much, getting your work done before practice, going through practice, getting off and then taking care of the body a little bit,sa国际传媒� said DeSmith.
* Tocchet believes a big key for the clubsa国际传媒檚 improved play as of late has been the ability to take away the oppositionsa国际传媒檚 speed through the neutral zone. The coaching staff made a video presentation to the players about four games ago and it seems to have resonated with the group.
* Defenseman Tyler Myers, who has missed the last four games with a lower-body injury, was a full participant in practice on Tuesday and is expected to be ready for either the game against Colorado tonight at Rogers Arena or when the Washington Capitals visit on Saturday.
* The organization announced a contract extension for Abbotsford general manager Ryan Johnson and that he has also been promoted to Assistant General Manager with Vancouver. The Canucks also announced contract extensions for Assistant General Managers Cammi Granato and 脡milie Castonguay.
Veteran B.C. sports personality Bob sa国际传媒渢he Mojsa国际传媒� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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