<p>On the first day of training camp last week, Vancouver Canucks goaltender <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-thatcher-demko-speaks-rare-injury">Thatcher Demko met with the media</a> to discuss the &#8220;rare and unique&#8221; injury that he&#8217;s still rehabbing as the preseason gets going. Now we know that it is to the Popliteus Muscle, a major <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526084/#:~:text=Despite%20its%20small%20size%2C%20the,the%20femur%20on%20the%20tibia.">stabilizing muscle</a> of the knee.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">‘I hit a wall in the summer’: Canucks’ Thatcher Demko speaks about rare injury <a href="https://t.co/88smobFOge">https://t.co/88smobFOge</a></p>
<p>&mdash; CanucksArmy (@CanucksArmy) <a href="https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1836830139784851747?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 19, 2024</a></p></blockquote>
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<p>Demko suffered the injury at the end of game one of the playoffs against the Nashville Predators, and said that he hit a wall in his recovery this summer.</p>
<p>“When I first injured myself in the playoffs, it was such a rare case, such a unique injury, that we didn’t really have a lot of readily available research or case studies, or really any information to have a concrete timeline,&#8221; Demko told reporters Thursday. &#8220;We were told this might be a situation that we might find ourselves in, the one we’re in right now.</p>
<p>“When I first felt the injury, obviously I wasn’t too sure what it was, but as we dived into some research and some things, it was a little bit ambiguous. It’s been a bit of a frustrating summer just trying to get some answers. Obviously we’ve talked to all the specialists we can around the world… and this is the information we’ve gathered. Myself, the staff, and the organization are fully confident that we’re on the right track.&#8221;</p>
<p>One thing Demko didn&#8217;t explicitly say in that press conference is which muscle he specifically hurt.</p>
<p>Kevin Woodley &#8212; one of the most respected individuals in the NHL goaltending world &#8212; <a href="https://x.com/Sportsnet650/status/1838238657817530762">joined Sportsnet 650&#8217;s Halford and Brough</a> on Monday morning and shared what he knew about the injury. Here&#8217;s what Woodley had to say:</p>
<blockquote><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of uncertainty around this, around this injury, and as much as he believes he can get to 100% and seems to be in a really good place the past couple of weeks, after, as he said, a month off&#8230; there remains a lot of uncertainty about the injury. The one thing I can clear up, one thing in terms of the uncertainty, there&#8217;s no longer uncertainty about what it is. So you guys can get your Web MD out and look up Popliteus.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is a thin triangle-shaped muscle behind the back of the knee. And that, evidently, is where the injury has occurred. Whether it&#8217;s a tear, to what degree, we don&#8217;t know, but this is basically a muscle deep behind under several layers of other muscles deep on the back of your knee. It doesn&#8217;t do much. It sort of attaches to the top inside of the femur and then back to the tibia on the top of the other side.</p>
<p>&#8220;For runners, it&#8217;s what unlocks the knee joint from straight, it&#8217;s actually a pretty negligible effect on the flexion of the knee, but it pulls the lateral meniscus back and out of the way of flexion. It is a small but somewhat significant ligament, and I&#8217;m not sure the degree of the damage or whether he&#8217;s pulled it off the bone at the ligament, or what, but it is super rare. I&#8217;ve talked to a couple of people that have been doing this at the NHL level for 30 years. They&#8217;ve never seen it. So everything they&#8217;re telling us tracks, and despite it being small and somewhat insignificant, there&#8217;s obviously uncertainty that comes when there&#8217;s no sort of prescribed way to either improve it. Like, literally when you first look it up, one of the first things you&#8217;ll see is the sort of healing time is anywhere from three to 16 weeks. So, nothing like nailing it down, right?&#8221;</p>
<p>-Kevin Woodley</p></blockquote>
<p>Demko was on the ice ahead of every session the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/7-takeaways-vancouver-canucks-training-camp-2024">Canucks had at training camp</a> last week, getting in work with goaltending coach Marko Torenius. He currently has no timeline to return, but has progressed very well in the last 2-3 weeks.</p>
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Thatcher Demko works out ahead of day two of Vancouver Canucks training camp. Sep. 21 2024

On the first day of training camp last week, Vancouver Canucks goaltender <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/vancouver-canucks-thatcher-demko-speaks-rare-injury">Thatcher Demko met with the media</a> to discuss the "rare and unique" injury that he's still rehabbing as the preseason gets going. Now we know that it is to the Popliteus Muscle, a major <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526084/#:~:text=Despite%20its%20small%20size%2C%20the,the%20femur%20on%20the%20tibia.">stabilizing muscle</a> of the knee.

https://twitter.com/CanucksArmy/status/1836830139784851747
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Demko suffered the injury at the end of game one of the playoffs against the Nashville Predators, and said that he hit a wall in his recovery this summer.

“When I first injured myself in the playoffs, it was such a rare case, such a unique injury, that we didn’t really have a lot of readily available research or case studies, or really any information to have a concrete timeline," Demko told reporters Thursday. "We were told this might be a situation that we might find ourselves in, the one we’re in right now.

“When I first felt the injury, obviously I wasn’t too sure what it was, but as we dived into some research and some things, it was a little bit ambiguous. It’s been a bit of a frustrating summer just trying to get some answers. Obviously we’ve talked to all the specialists we can around the world… and this is the information we’ve gathered. Myself, the staff, and the organization are fully confident that we’re on the right track."

One thing Demko didn't explicitly say in that press conference is which muscle he specifically hurt.

Kevin Woodley -- one of the most respected individuals in the NHL goaltending world -- <a href="https://x.com/Sportsnet650/status/1838238657817530762">joined Sportsnet 650's Halford and Brough</a> on Monday morning and shared what he knew about the injury. Here's what Woodley had to say:
<blockquote>"There's a lot of uncertainty around this, around this injury, and as much as he believes he can get to 100% and seems to be in a really good place the past couple of weeks, after, as he said, a month off... there remains a lot of uncertainty about the injury. The one thing I can clear up, one thing in terms of the uncertainty, there's no longer uncertainty about what it is. So you guys can get your Web MD out and look up Popliteus.

"It is a thin triangle-shaped muscle behind the back of the knee. And that, evidently, is where the injury has occurred. Whether it's a tear, to what degree, we don't know, but this is basically a muscle deep behind under several layers of other muscles deep on the back of your knee. It doesn't do much. It sort of attaches to the top inside of the femur and then back to the tibia on the top of the other side.

"For runners, it's what unlocks the knee joint from straight, it's actually a pretty negligible effect on the flexion of the knee, but it pulls the lateral meniscus back and out of the way of flexion. It is a small but somewhat significant ligament, and I'm not sure the degree of the damage or whether he's pulled it off the bone at the ligament, or what, but it is super rare. I've talked to a couple of people that have been doing this at the NHL level for 30 years. They've never seen it. So everything they're telling us tracks, and despite it being small and somewhat insignificant, there's obviously uncertainty that comes when there's no sort of prescribed way to either improve it. Like, literally when you first look it up, one of the first things you'll see is the sort of healing time is anywhere from three to 16 weeks. So, nothing like nailing it down, right?"

-Kevin Woodley</blockquote>
Demko was on the ice ahead of every session the <a href="https://canucksarmy.com/news/7-takeaways-vancouver-canucks-training-camp-2024">Canucks had at training camp</a> last week, getting in work with goaltending coach Marko Torenius. He currently has no timeline to return, but has progressed very well in the last 2-3 weeks.

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