Vancouver Canucks News & Notes: Joshua, Edler, Demko

Jake DeBrusk and Elias Pettersson at practice for the Vancouver Canucks
Photo via Globe and Mail

First off, all of us here at Inside the Rink want to wish Dakota Joshua all the best. His recent announcement of having surgery for testicular cancer is a good reminder to stay on top of your health. Dakota will miss training camp and said any further updates will be from the team.

On to better news, Alex Edler will sign a one-day contract to officially retire a Canuck. He is one of the most decorated and steady defencemen in Canuck history. His career will be celebrated on Friday, Oct. 11th, against the Philadelphia Flyers at Roger’s Arena in Vancouver. Edler is the Canucks franchise record holder in games played, goals, assists, and points by a defenceman.

Some notes from training camp at the Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton, British Columbia:

President of Hockey Operations Jim Rutherford, General Manager Patrik Allvin, and head coach Rick Tocchet all met with the media before training camp commenced. Tocchet spoke of higher expectations and how the team can improve from last year. His new slogan is “Embrace the hard.”Rutherford stated that he believes this team is better than last year’s Pacific Division champions and that, again, everything has to go right to be successful. Allvin talked about the depth of the organization being better than in previous years, and the players are all excited to get going.

Star goaltender Thatcher Demko met with the media on Thursday in Penticton. He stated that “He hit a wall” in his rehab over the summer. He told Canucks reporter, Chris Faber, “I’ve been able to rehab a ton this summer, and sure, it’s taking a bit longer than I would have liked, but over the past few weeks, I’m feeling a lot better now, and there’s some light at the end of the tunnel.” He also added that there is a lack of research on the type of muscle injury he has, but he expects to get back to 100%.

The players themselves ran through several on ice drills and competitions today. With Jonathan Lekkerimaki getting a look with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. Again, Lekkerimaki looks good, no matter who he plays with.

Goaltender Arturs Silovs was facing shots from Daniel and Henrik Sedin. Now, that’s a great way to get ready for the upcoming season!

Training camp concludes on Sunday, Sept. 22nd, and the Canucks first exhibition game is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 24th, with the Seattle Kraken in town.

ITR 34: End Of The Road Inside The Rink

 Join Conrad and Chris as they discuss the Boston Bruins front office, Logan Couture's retirement, Edmonton Oilers Injuries leading into the playoffs, and playoff matchups! 
  1. ITR 34: End Of The Road
  2. ITR 33: The Gr8 One
  3. ITR 32: The Final Countdown
  4. ITR 31: Let Them Fight
  5. ITR 30: Down The Stretch

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Fraser Sinclair

Writer, covering the Vancouver Canucks for Inside the Rink.

Leave a Reply

Pittsburgh Penguins

Rust’s Double Downs Capitals In Pens’ Season Finale

The conclusive blare of the final horn resonated through PPG Paints Arena on Thursday night, bringing the curtain down on a season of unfulfilled promise for the playoff-less Penguins, who nonetheless delivered a parting shot by defeating their rivals, the Washington Capitals, 5-2. While this victory offered a momentary high for the Penguins, its true […]

Read More

2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Winnipeg Jets vs St. Louis Blues Series Preview

One more sleep and the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues battle it out for the first time since 2019 in the postseason. Both teams have a close head-to-head rivalry since the 1999-2000 season, but have only met once in the playoffs. A throwback to the clash in 2019 has shades of the past after […]

Read More

The Connor McDavid Lottery, 10 Years Later

When you have a job writing about the Edmonton Oilers, it’s hard not to type out his name at least once in every article. April 18th, 2015, the 9th year in our team’s Decade of Darkness had just come to a close, finishing 3rd last league-wide. Connor McDavid was the projected top prospect in that year’s […]

Read More