BC's Demko Saves Canucks' Campaign

Thatcher Demko (Boston College) certainly made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut a memorable one. Demko, 24, stopped 42 shots on Tuesday night to backstop the Vancouver Canucks to a season-saving 2-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at Rogers Place in Edmonton. The best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series now stands at three games to two for Vegas, with Game 6 scheduled for Thursday.

Starting in place of injured regular netminder Jacob Markstrom, Demko stopped 38 of 39 shots at even strength, and all four attempts he faced while Vancouver was shorthanded, as the Canucks were outshot, 43-17, overall on the evening. The only goal Demko surrendered came late in the second period, although Vancouver tied the game just 24 seconds later on a goal by Brock Boeser (North Dakota), who then assisted on the game-winning goal in the third period.

A fourth-year pro out of San Diego and the U.S. National Team Development Program in Michigan, the 6-foot-4 Demko played in an NHL career-high 27 games during a COVID-19 abbreviated regular season for the Canucks, going 13-10-2 with a 3.06 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage. He appeared in nine games for Vancouver during the 2018-19 season, after making his league debut in 2017-18 and posting a victory in his first-ever start, his only appearance at the NHL level that year. In 39 career NHL regular season games, he has registered a 18-13-3 mark (2.96, .909). He spent the bulk of his pro career with Utica (AHL) from 2016 to 2019, fashioning a 55-36-5 record (2.56, .915) with three shutouts in 107 regular-season appearances with the Comets.

Selected by Vancouver in the second round (36th overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft following his freshman campaign at BC, when he was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Team, Demko backstopped the Eagles to Beanpot Tournament titles and NCAA Frozen Four berths in both 2014 and 2016. He went 62-26-10 (2.08, .928) with 13 shutouts in 98 career appearances at the Heights, including 10 shutouts as a junior as he earned Hockey East first team accolades and second team All-America status that winter. He also won the Mike Richter Award as the nation's top goaltender that season, and was also tabbed as the Hockey East Player of the Year before turning pro shortly afterwards. 

ADDENDUM: Demko made 48 saves in a 4-0 shutout in Game 6, but the Vancouver bubble finally burst in Game 7 , a 3-0 Vegas win. He stopped 33 of 34 shots in the finale, but the Canucks surrendered two late empty-net goals after Demko was pulled for an extra attacker.

Harvard's Rathbone Signs with Canucks

Rising junior defenseman Jack Rathbone (Harvard) has left college hockey to sign an entry-level contract with the Vancouver Canucks, according to The Hockey News.

Rathbone, a 5-11, 190-pound blueliner from West Roxbury, Mass., finished fourth in team scoring this season for the Crimson with seven goals and 24 assists for 31 points in 28 games. In two seasons and 60 career NCAA contests played with Harvard, he collected 14 goals and 38 assists for 52 points to go with 22 penalty minutes. As a freshman, he helped Harvard to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.

The son of former Boston College forward Jason Rathbone (BC'92), Jack Rathbone prepped with both the Cape Cod Whalers and the Dexter School prior to skating for Harvard. A two-time captain at Dexter, he was drafted in the fourth round (95th overall) by the Canucks in the 2017 NHL Draft.

Larkin Re-Signs, Berenson Earns Latest Honor

Two former University of Michigan players made headlines over the weekend—one an up-and-comer, and the other a living legend.

Dylan Larkin, who played one season with the Wolverines before turning pro, has signed a five-year contract with the Detroit Red Wings. A restricted free agent, Larkin, 22, will receive an average of $6.1 million per season, according to NHL.com. Drafted 15th overall by Detroit in 2014, the Waterford, Mich. native has notched 56 goals and 84 assists for 140 points in 242 regular-season appearances over three full NHL campaigns, all with Detroit. He registered 15-32—47 points in 35 outings with U-M in 2014-15, his lone year in Ann Arbor and the inaugural season of the current Big Ten Conference.

Longtime Michigan head coach Gordon "Red" Berenson, who manned the Wolverines for 33 seasons and also won two NCAA Division I titles at the U-M helm, will be inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in December. The Regina, Sask. native starred at Michigan as a forward before going on to play in the NHL from 1962 to 1978. He later coached the St. Louis Blues for three seasons.

Berenson guided his alma mater from 1984 to 2017, and recorded an 848-426-92 overall mark with the Wolverines while winning national titles in both 1996 and 1998. He also led the Maize and Blue to 10 Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular season championships, nine CCHA Tournament crowns, one Big Ten tournament title, and 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1991 to 2012.

Also, in late July, Michigan defenseman Quinn Hughes announced he will return to U-M for his sophomore season. Drafted seventh overall by the Vancouver Canucks in June, the Orlando, Fla. native earned 2017-18 Big Ten All-Freshman Team accolades in collecting 5-24—29 points in 37 games as a rookie, while also helping the Wolverines to the NCAA Frozen Four.

Former Collegians on the Move in NHL Free Agency

A number of former college players changed NHL teams over the last week, both before and after the league's annual free agent frenzy got underway.

Prior to the beginning of the free agency period on Sunday, the Pittsburgh Penguins dealt forward Connor Sheary (Massachusetts) and Matt Hunwick (Michigan) to the Buffalo Sabres for a conditional 2019 draft choice. Pittsburgh later signed defenseman Jack Johnson (Michigan) of the Columbus Blue Jackets to a five-year contract. Jimmy Hayes (Boston College) and John Muse (Boston College), who both helped BC to its 2010 NCAA title, joined the Penguins from the New Jersey Devils and Reading (ECHL), respectively.

Power forward and 30-goal scorer James van Riemsdyk (New Hampshire) returned to the Philadelphia Flyers after six seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the latter club pulling perhaps the biggest coup in free agency this summer by signing New York Islanders captain and All-Star forward John Tavares.

Paul Stastny (Denver) has jumped from the Winnipeg Jets to the Vegas Golden Knights. Tage Thompson (Connecticut) went from the St. Louis Blues to the Buffalo Sabres as part of a four-player trade, while Tyler Bozak (Denver) has re-upped with the Blues for three years. Jay Beagle (Alaska Anchorage), who helped the Washington Capitals win their first-ever Stanley Cup this spring, has left Washington after decade to join the Vancouver Canucks, while Nic Dowd (St. Cloud State) has signed with the Caps after spending last season with the Canucks.

Brian Gibbons (Boston College), a two-time NCAA champion with the Eagles, parlayed his most successful NHL season to date by leaving New Jersey for the Anaheim Ducks, while Eric Gryba (Boston University) went to the Devils from the Edmonton Oilers. Longtime pro netminder Mike McKenna (St. Lawrence), who backstopped the Dallas Stars' American Hockey League franchise to within one win of the AHL's Calder Cup championship, has signed with the Ottawa Senators, as has former New York Rangers forward Paul Carey (Boston College).

A full list of recent NHL transactions can be found here.

Northeastern's Gaudette Wins 2018 Hobey Baker Award

Adam Gaudette of Northeastern University was named Friday as the 2018 Hobey Baker Memorial Award winner in St. Paul, Minn. The award, which has been presented since 1981 to the top player in NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey, is named for the former Princeton University hockey star of a century ago.

Gaudette, a 6-foot-1, 184-pound junior forward from Braintree, Mass, is the first Hobey Baker winner to hail from Northeastern. He led the Huskies this season with 30 goals and 30 assists for 60 points in 38 games, and paced the nation in both total goals and total points. He also helped NU to its first Beanpot Tournament title in 30 years, notching three goals in a 5-2 championship contest victory over Boston University on Feb. 12.

Gaudette, 21, tallied 68-74—142 points in three seasons at NU, and also helped the Huskies to two NCAA Tournament appearances, plus the 2016 Hockey East tournament championship, its first league title since 1988. He played his final collegiate game in a 3-2 loss to Michigan in an NCAA Northeast Regional semifinal on March 24.

A fifth-round draft choice of the Vancouver Canucks in 2015, Gaudette had played in his first four career NHL games as of Friday. The Canucks close out their 2017-18 campaign on Saturday at Edmonton, while the 2017-18 NCAA season also ends the same night, with Minnesota-Duluth facing Notre Dame for the men’s Division I national title.

Boeser Scores Three Times as NHL Preseason Begins

The 2017-18 NHL season got underway, exhibition-wise, on Saturday night as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the host Los Angeles Kings, 4-3, in overtime in the league's preseason opener. Brock Boeser (North Dakota) tallied the game-winner with 22 seconds remaining in the sudden-death session.

Boeser won an NCAA national title as a freshman with North Dakota in 2016. He added two more goals, plus an assist, on Sunday at home as the Canucks fell, 9-4, to the NHL's newest expansion entry, the Vegas Knights, in a game dominated by young players on both rosters.

Alex Tuch (Boston College) tallied Vegas' fifth goal Sunday, on a power play, while Paul Thompson (New Hampshire) closed out the scoring for the Knights late in the third period. Richard Bachman (Colorado College) took the loss in goal for Vancouver, stopping 13 of 18 shots in playing the first 28 minutes. Thatcher Demko (Boston College) mopped up the rest of regulation for the Canucks, and finished with 16 saves on 20 shots.

Canucks to Part Ways with Yale's Higgins

The Vancouver Canucks are poised buy out the contract of former Yale University forward Chris Higgins, according to The Hockey News on Monday. The Smithtown, N.Y. native has been placed on waivers, and should be bought out after no claim is expected to be made for him.

Higgins played two seasons at Yale, collecting 34 goals and 37 assists for 71 points in 55 NCAA games with the Bulldogs from 2001 to 2003, via USCHO.com. The 14th overall selection by Montreal in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft, the six-foot, 200-pound skater played four full seasons with the Canadiens before spending a combined year with the New York Rangers and Calgary Flames. He has been with the Canucks since the 2010-11 season, and last year also played in 22 games with Utica (AHL), his first time in the minors since 2004-05 with now-defunct Hamilton (AHL).

In 711 career NHL regular-season outings, Higgins has tallied 165-168—233 points to go with 220 penalty minutes, including his 2007-08 campaign in Montreal where he posted career highs of 27-25—52 points, according to HockeyDB.com. In 62 Stanley Cup playoff contests with Montreal and Vancouver, he has recorded 11-10—21 points, and had a career-best 4-4—8 points in 25 games his first season with the Canucks as they came within one win of a Stanley Cup title.

Demko Leaves Boston College for Canucks

And then there were five (gone).

Boston College junior goaltender Thatcher Demko gave up his senior season to sign an entry level contract yesterday with the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the second round (36th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

Demko, 20, who won the Mike Richter Award this year as the top goaltender in NCAA Division I men's ice hockey, joins Adam Gilmour, Steve Santini, Alex Tuch and Miles Wood as ex-Eagles who signed professional contracts with college eligibility remaining following the end of BC's 2015-16 campaign. Gilmour and Tuch signed with the Minnesota Wild, while Santini and Wood inked deals with the New Jersey Devils and then made their NHL debuts in the Devils’ season finale on April 9 against Toronto.

A San Diego native, the 6-foot-4, 195-pound Demko leaves the Heights after recording a 27-8-4 record with a 1.88 goals-against average, a .935 save percentage, and 10 shutouts in 36 games last season, all career bests. In 98 outings over three seasons, he finished with a mark of 62-26-10 (2.08, .928) with 13 shutouts. 

Demko also backstopped BC to two NCAA Frozen Four appearances, two Hockey East regular-season titles, and two Beanpot Tournament championships in his career. He played his final game for BC in a 3-2 loss to Quinnipiac in an NCAA Frozen Four semifinal on April 7 in Tampa, where he made 27 saves. He stopped 60 of 63 shots combined two weeks prior, against Harvard and Minnesota-Duluth, as the Eagles defeated both to claim the NCAA Northeast Regional in Worcester.

The Eagles will return one experienced netminder in the fall in rising freshman Ian Milosz, who posted a win and a tie in two starts against Providence after joining BC at midseason. Sophomore goalie Chris Birdsall is also expected to return, after missing all of last season due to injury. 

Ducks Extend Kesler's Contract

The Anaheim Ducks signed forward Ryan Kesler (Ohio State) to a six-year contract extension yesterday. The Livonia, Mich. native tallied 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points last season in 81 NHL regular-season contests, and then added 7-6—13 points in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games as the Ducks fell one game short of the Stanley Cup Final.

Kesler, who spent two years with the U.S. National Team Development Program before enrolling at OSU, posted 11-20—31 points in his lone NCAA campaign with the Buckeyes in 2002-03. He turned pro the following season after being drafted 23^rd overall that summer by the Vancouver Canucks, with whom he spent 10 seasons and came within a game of a Stanley Cup championship in 2011.

He also prepped with Manitoba (AHL) before becoming a full-time NHL player, and joined Anaheim last summer in a trade that included Vancouver's 3rd round choice in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Kesler, who has also skated for the United States in two Winter Olympic Games, where he earned a silver medal in 2010, has put up 202-238—440 points and 669 penalty minutes in 736 NHL regular-season outings. He also has 19-32—51 points in 73 Stanley Cup Playoff appearances, per NHL.com.