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 hasn乌鸦传媒檛 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 DeSmith乌鸦传媒檚 makeup and how it would impact his ability to transform from a back-up to the starter for the next few weeks, Tocchet乌鸦传媒檚 answer had the media contingent chuckling.
乌鸦传媒淗e乌鸦传媒檚 well-liked. I乌鸦传媒檝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 don乌鸦传媒檛 know why. I乌鸦传媒檝e had some goalies where I乌鸦传媒檓 not a big fan of the guy. I乌鸦传媒檓 not saying I kind of veered out of the way but when you like a goalie, you乌鸦传媒檒l really dive in (front of a shot),乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet drawing some laughs from the assembled media. 乌鸦传媒淭hose guys love Casey. So you乌鸦传媒檒l see a lot of guys willing to block shots 乌鸦传媒� 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.
乌鸦传媒淒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 doesn乌鸦传媒檛 play a ton or all the time. He乌鸦传媒檚 a great guy. I think that comes into play. Then the guy dumps it in because he likes him. I don乌鸦传媒檛 know if that makes sense,乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet as the media chuckled.
乌鸦传媒淪o if a guy doesn乌鸦传媒檛 dump it in tomorrow and it乌鸦传媒檚 a three-on-one you乌鸦传媒檙e going to say he doesn乌鸦传媒檛 like the guy.乌鸦传媒�
All kidding aside, losing a Vezina Trophy candidate in Demko is no joke but perhaps Tocchet乌鸦传媒檚 mood gave us some perspective on how he乌鸦传媒檚 feeling about Demko乌鸦传媒檚 injury and the confidence that he has in DeSmith.
The official word from Tocchet on Demko乌鸦传媒檚 injury is 乌鸦传媒渓ower-body, week-to-week乌鸦传媒� but Canucks Nation biggest fear 乌鸦传媒� that Demko wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 be ready for the playoffs 乌鸦传媒� wasn乌鸦传媒檛 even on the head coach乌鸦传媒檚 radar.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檓 not worried about that at all,乌鸦传媒� answered Tocchet, adding that the upcoming time off for Demko was actually a positive given his workload this season.
As for DeSmith, this isn乌鸦传媒檛 the first time he乌鸦传媒檚 been called upon to be the number one goalie and those previous experiences with the Pittsburgh Penguins give him full confidence moving forward.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檝e done this a couple of times in my career just filling in for injury and getting the net for a little while. I乌鸦传媒檝e always enjoyed the experience and had some good success in the past when I乌鸦传媒檝e had the net for a couple of weeks, so I乌鸦传媒檓 looking forward to it. I have my job to do and I乌鸦传媒檓 just a very small part of the big picture, so I try to worry about my little part and not the big picture,乌鸦传媒� 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.
乌鸦传媒淚 remember last year when we called him up, the second and third game you could see the improvement in Silovs so I think it乌鸦传媒檚 good that he gets a taste of it up here,乌鸦传媒� said Tocchet.
Despite Silov乌鸦传媒檚 success this season, this is DeSmith乌鸦传媒檚 time.
乌鸦传媒淎s of now, we乌鸦传媒檙e just going game-to-game. Casey乌鸦传媒檚 definitely going to get the next two games and we乌鸦传媒檒l go from there. I think Casey deserves the chance to get the ball and take it,乌鸦传媒� explained Tocchet.
OVERTIME
* DeSmith says the biggest adjustment he乌鸦传媒檚 going to have to make in his new role is how he handles practice time. 乌鸦传媒淧ractices are a little different. I乌鸦传媒檒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,乌鸦传媒� said DeSmith.
* Tocchet believes a big key for the club乌鸦传媒檚 improved play as of late has been the ability to take away the opposition乌鸦传媒檚 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 乌鸦传媒渢he Moj乌鸦传媒� Marjanovich writes twice weekly for Black Press Media.
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