Former Comet Fan Favorite Reveals He was Robbed at Gunpoint in Utica

A well-loved sports figure in Utica is making headlines after revealing something that happened to him while he was living in the Handshake City.

Thatcher Demko, a goaltender with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks, was assigned to the AHL Utica Comets for the 2016-2017 season.  The 6-foot 4-inch tall fan favorite revealed on a podcast recently that he was robbed at gunpoint right before a major game.

Demko tells the Spittin' Chiclets podcast,  "I got robbed at gunpoint in my own crib. It was actually after the gold medal game of World Juniors — I think it was the year that US beat Canada in a shootout… I was living with Jordan Subban at the time and Subby had gone to bed around like 10:30 11 o’clock or whatever, so I was a couple hours behind him," Demko said.

Demko says he and his roommate, Subby, were trying to sleep when he heard noises in another room.  When he heard the sound of wet shoes on the wooden floor he called out to his roommate.  When his roommate answered and the two still heard noises in the other room he got up to investigate while still in his boxer shorts.

He found a man in the living room taking electronics, among them gaming consoles, and Demko confronted him. The man left the house and Demko says he ran out in the snow - still in his boxers - after the man.  He told the man that if he gave the stuff back he would not call police.  Demko says that the man then shifted the stuff in his arms and pulled a gun from his pocket and pointed it at him and "I was like ‘hey man, go ahead’.” The thief then fled.

The Utica Police Department was able to trackdown the car and the suspect in the robbery.  According to Demko's account the robbery was traced back to the son of his landlord, who he says was very sweet and knew that the lock on the apartment door was faulty.

He says he called Coach Travis Green from the police station.  There were no injuries and the situation was, for the most part, resolved. "So we ended up going to the police station and had a game the next day," Demko told the podcast.  "I remember I called Greener [Travis Green] cause he was my coach at the time, and I called Greener at like four in the morning, I’m like, ‘hey, I just got f****** robbed, like I’m in a police station, like this is crazy and I just wanted to let you know.’ And he’s like ‘alright I’ll see you for morning skate.’ F***,” Demko said with a laugh as he recalled that part of the story.