Who Is Playing Where? A Look At How Goaltending Injuries Have Impacted Every Level Of The Vancouver Canucks’ Organization
The Vancouver Canucks organizational goaltending situation is one of the most complicated in the league. Due to injuries, Vancouver’s NHL, AHL and ECHL have needed to make roster moves over the past 48 hours. Here is a look at which team each goaltender is currently playing for and their current health status as of November 8, 2025, at 11:30 am PT.
Starting easy, Kevin Lankinen is healthy and is the current starter in the NHL. The 30-year-old is 2-4-0 on the season with a save percentage of .880. Lankinen is scheduled to start for the Canucks against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and may also play Sunday against the Colorado Avalanche.
Next up is Thatcher Demko, whose current injury situation is very complicated to explain. To summarize Adam Foote’s update, Demko is taking a few days off for maintenance. Due to the next roster move, Demko will not be eligible to play on Saturday, but could be back between the pipes on Sunday.
The roster move mentioned above involves Jiří Patera, who was called up on Friday under “Emergency Conditions.” So far this season, the 26-year-old is 1-2-2 with a .894 save percentage in five AHL games. Patera has now been with the organization for two years, but has only played 12 games with the Abbotsford Canucks due to injury.
Patera being called up would not have been an issue if injuries hadn’t also hit Abbotsford’s crease. Nikita Tolopilo was injured back on October 24, while Ty Young left Friday night’s game after the second period with an injury. Due to the Patera’s call-up and Tolopilo’s injury, the AHL Canucks had to sign CJ Kier to an amateur try-out on Friday, with the 21-year-old making his AHL debut in the third period after Young left with an injury.
Lastly, we get to the ECHL, where both Jonathan Lemieux and Aku Koskenvuo have been called up from the Kalamazoo Wings to join Abbotsford. Lemieux was called up on Friday, while Koskenvuo received his call-up on Saturday morning. Each goaltender has played two games this season, with Koskenvuo picking up the only win between the two.
In short, Vancouver’s injury situation is getting out of hand. Injuries at every position are having a significant trickle-down effect that is impacting all three pro teams within the organization. At this point, it is hard to project who will play for which team as all three rosters seem to be changing every few days.
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