Thatcher Demko and his medical team have spent the last few months scouring the globe, trying to find other hockey players who鈥檝e dealt with the same muscle injury the Vancouver Canucks goalie is currently working through.

It turns out Demko鈥檚 situation is exceptionally unique.

While they found about five soccer players with the same lower-body ailment, they could not find a single other hockey player.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been wild,鈥� Demko said Thursday. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been part of the frustration, just not having a ton of information and you鈥檙e kind of just going in blindfolded. And it can be scary at times.鈥�

The 28-year-old all star was not on the ice with his teammates Thursday as the Canucks started training camp in Penticton, B.C., but he skated on his own before the sessions began.

When, exactly, he鈥檒l be ready to play remains to be seen.

鈥淚 would say that we鈥檙e on a great trajectory right now,鈥� the netminder said. 鈥淚鈥檓 the most confident that I鈥檝e been in the rehab process up to date.鈥�

Demko posted a 35-14-2 record with a .918 percentage, a 2.45 goals-against average and five shutouts for Vancouver last season, despite missing several weeks with a knee injury.

He first felt the current injury during Vancouver鈥檚 first playoff game last season, a 2-1 victory over the Nashville Predators where he made 29 saves.

The ailment kept Demko out for the rest of the post-season as the Canucks bested the Predators in a six-game set before falling to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of a second-round series.

If Vancouver had made it through to the Western Conference final, Demko said he likely would have played 鈥� whether he was completely ready or not.

鈥淎s a competitor, you kind of lie to yourself in a playoff situation and I thought maybe I was a little further ahead than I was in hindsight,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 will say that I kind of hit a bit of a wall in the summer as far as recovery went. And we did see a little bit of a lack of progress there for a couple of months. 鈥� But I would say the last two or three weeks, we鈥檝e seen a ton of progress.鈥�

Recovering hasn鈥檛 been a linear process, Demko said, and being sidelined for training camp was never part of the plan.

鈥淚 think missing playoff games last year was definitely the low point in my career mentally, spiritually,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you had asked me when I was going home for the summer if I鈥檇 be ready for camp, I would have said 鈥榊eah, 100 per cent.鈥�

鈥淚 can鈥檛 sit around and think poor me that I鈥檓 not out there. Obviously, I want to be out there. I want to be competing with the guys. I want to be leading by example, I want to help the young guys coming in. 鈥� But this is the hand I鈥檓 dealing with right now.鈥�

Uncertainty around the injury has brought a lot of frustration, Demko added, particularly when he can鈥檛 get on the ground to play with his one-year-old son.

Still, he believes that heading into his eighth NHL season, he鈥檒l get back to 鈥�100 per cent.鈥�

Maintaining that form, though, may require some tweaks to his training regime.

鈥淚 think it comes down to just a little bit of maturity. Quite frankly, I just kind of have one gear and that鈥檚 just to go as hard as I can and try to get better every day,鈥� Demko said. 鈥淎nd I鈥檓 just learning that there鈥檚 different ways to get better and maintain your system of play and make sure that you stay sharp and at the same time as taking care of your body.鈥�