Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko spoke to the media ahead of the team embarking on a six-game road trip starting on the East Coast and travelling westward to finish the trip in Minnesota.

Demko said that he is feeling better than he has over the past seven or eight months. He explained that though there is still a lot of work to do, he is feeling good about his progress.

“I have a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel, for sure, we have a lot of direction in what we’re trying to accomplish, we’ve gotten some huge progress and big jumps over the last probably two, three, four weeks. We’re moving in the right direction,” Demko said Wednesday afternoon.

When asked about envisioning his return to action, Demko said he has not really gotten his mind to that point yet and that he is trying to stay committed to daily progress. Though he isn’t allowing himself to look ahead to game action, he was confident that he would be playing.

“I definitely know that I’ll be playing here, you know, I can’t give you the timeline yet, but I’ll definitely be back. [I am] just enjoying being where I’m at today and keep making progress.

“Shortly after Penticton, we really nailed down what the issue was specifically, which was nice to finally understand what was going on. And that gave us a clear picture of different options that we had moving forward. It was kind of just trial and error at that point, and we… pic.twitter.com/mfjHMTWkzC

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Demko wants to be out there for his teammates and support the Canucks to have success and mentioned his teammates, trainers, and coaches have been supportive in his recovery. Demko admitted he puts a lot of pressure on himself through his recovery and the support from his Canucks family has helped lower his stress level.

“I’m not really doing this for me,” said Demko “I think that’s what the basis of playing sports is; trying to be there for other people and help your team succeed and do whatever it takes to do that. So, it’s hard to compartmentalize that and stay focused on my task and not get too judgmental internally.”

“You try not to guilt yourself into tricking yourself that you’re maybe farther along just so you can get back sooner, things like that. But my teammates have been great. My coaching staff has been great with just not really putting pressure on me. I think they know that I probably do that enough on my own. And so, they all have been very supportive and that’s been huge to this process.”

Demko is working to get to a point where he feels confident to jump in for the long haul and not rush back to action. He admitted that he is feeling great right now but wants to avoid any setbacks when he returns.

“I’ve got to put this thing through hell and know that I can sustain that and withstand just the pressures of being in the NHL every day; playing games, waking up, practicing and travelling – doing all this stuff,” said Demko. “I need to make sure that I’m ready for the long haul.”

The ultimate goal is returning to game action and though we don’t have a timeline for that just yet, Demko is doing everything he can to help his team in the future and get back between the pipes where he belongs and feels most comfortable.

Demko spoke about his progression from goalie skates, to taking shots from the Sedin twins, to what he is at now with practicing with the Canucks. Though it’s been a long road, the 28-year-old is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and with considerable progress made over the past few weeks, he is feeling good about where he is at but also continues to manage his expectations for his return to game action.

“The game is a different beast,” said Demko. “I know that it’s not going to be perfect in my first or second game back. I have to be able to manage my expectations in that regard. But, yeah, [I’m] just doing everything I can to make that transition as smooth as possible.”

Demko will travel with the Canucks on their upcoming road trip that sees them in Ottawa, Boston, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Detroit, and Minnesota over the next two weeks.