As you’ve likely read by now, Thatcher Demko is ready to return to the Vancouver Canucks‘ goal crease.

The Canucks’ All-Star starting netminder, who last played on November 11th against the Winnipeg Jets, declared himself ready to go for the team’s Thursday night home matchup with the Buffalo Sabres. Following an optional Canucks practice today, Demko met with assembled media for the first time since his injury.

“Yeah I feel good,” Demko said. “Been able to skate with the team the last few days here. You know, they were on that road trip down to Cali and it felt like a long one. It’s nice to have them back and be around the guys.”

Demko is eager to return to a Canucks team that has amassed just three wins over the 12-game stretch that Demko has been absent for.

“That’s kind of the urge to get back, you know? You’d rather be in there losing with them. I think they’ve been playing well the last handful of games. Some of the bounces and things, it’s getting old, especially as a spectator. If the team is going to go through rough patches, you want to be part of that. Whether you’re winning or losing games, you want to be part of that.”

While he didn’t get into the specifics of his lower-body injury, Demko confirmed it was a minor tweak, and that unlike his popilteus injury from 2024, there wasn’t anything confusing about this one.

“I’m not going to get into it…We knew exactly what was going on, it was a minor tweak of something. Pretty much just had to give it time and get the reps back. We’ve done that and like I said, I’m excited to be back in the lineup.”

Demko admitted that his offseason preparation and hot start to the season — Demko had a .926 save percentage through seven starts in October — made this injury tougher to deal with mentally.

“Any guy can go through it, have a great summer and get hurt. I was sitting there pretty much just beating myself up for a week. You feel guilty, bummed out, and pissed off and all those things, but it’s part of the game. I can only control so much at the end of the day. I know that I’m doing everything humanly possible preparation wise, education wise. I have a great team that surrounds me and helps me do what I can to make sure that I’m ready to play, and I’m the guy that feels it the most when things don’t turn out the way we want them to. I’ve been working hard, and I’m ready to go.”