You can understand why Dakota Joshua reacted with a certain amount of disbelief last week when he got a phone call from Vancouver Canucks general manager Patrick Allvin.
It wasn’t that he had been traded for a fourth-round pick in 2028 that was hard for Joshua to fathom. It was that he’d been traded to the Maple Leafs, the very team that drafted Joshua in the fifth round in 2014 and then, in the wake of Joshua’s four-year stint at Ohio State University, proceeded to trade him away in 2019.
“I couldn’t believe it,†Joshua said Tuesday. “It’s crazy that I ended up coming back here and getting a real chance to play for the Maple Leafs.â€
If the post-collegiate Joshua didn’t fit the mould of Kyle Dubas-era ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, the version of the player that has spent the past five NHL seasons honing his craft in St. Louis and Vancouver figures to fit in far more seamlessly in Brad Treliving’s grittier reimagining of Leafland.
ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ acquired Dakota Joshua from the Vancouver Canucks for a 2028 fourth-round draft pick.Â
The six-foot-three, 210-pound winger has carved out an identity as a hard-hitting, penalty-killing workhorse who is not afraid to do the dirty work required to bang in a net-front goal. In Joshua’s breakthrough 2023-24 season, he scored 18 goals in 63 regular-season games for the Canucks and added four goals and four assists in 13 playoff games before he was rewarded with a four-year contract worth an annual average of $3.25 million (U.S.).
And if Joshua would acknowledge that last season’s production didn’t live up to that salary — he registered just seven goals and 14 points in 57 games — it’s worth noting the extenuating circumstances. It will be a year ago next month that Joshua was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
“It was obviously very scary when I found out, very unexpected. There’s no situation in life that can prepare you for getting that news,†Joshua said. “At the beginning, you’re obviously thinking the worst. But I was lucky that I caught it early … They were able to go in and remove the tumour.â€
Some Max Domi here. Some Nick Robertson there. Some Morgan Reilly on the power play. Some
In a matter of weeks, Joshua went from cancer patient to cancer free, and he’s happy to report there have been no lingering effects in the surgery’s wake. Which is not to say the health scare, which forced Joshua to miss the first 14 games of the season, didn’t take a toll on his game last season, when he also dealt with hip issues that, he said, have since been sorted out.
“Just starting from behind … I couldn’t really get my game to where I wanted it to be until towards the end of the year,” he said. “A frustrating year, for sure. But I’m happy to put it behind me and get a fresh start here.â€
The fresh start is a reunion in more ways than one. Not only does Joshua remember the likes of William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Joseph Woll from various trips to Leafs development camp a decade or so ago. Joshua got his first NHL foothold playing as a fourth-liner in St. Louis for head coach Craig (Chief) Berube, now of the Leafs. Joshua credits playing for Berube, and then playing for Berube’s former teammate and roommate Rick Tocchet in Vancouver, for helping him find his NHL niche.
“(Both Berube and Tocchet) like a hard-working, north-south game, which is my type of game. And so (Tocchet) was also a tremendous help in letting my career take off after getting started with Chief,†Joshua said. “Chief, he’s very professional and he’s a straight shooter. He lets you know where you stand and wants you to go out there and get the job done. He expects a lot out of his players, which I like. He was a tremendous help in getting my career started and evolving into the player I am today.â€
Buffalo labelled its opponents as different flavours of the city’s famed chicken wings,
If Berube was publicly effusive in his praise for Joshua during their time together in St. Louis, Tocchet has been just as generous in his assessments.
“(Joshua is) a pleasure to coach,†Tocchet told a recent edition of “The Hockey PODcast.” “I think it’s a great trade for ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½. Hopefully Dak can find his game. Because if he’s on his game, that’s a hell of a piece for ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½.â€
Joshua, who will wear No. 81 for the Leafs, as he did for the Canucks, has been spending the off-season in hometown Dearborn, Mich., skating with a group of pros that includes his younger brother, Jagger, who played last season for Buffalo’s AHL team. But Joshua’s second go-round in Hogtown will begin soon enough.
“I’m looking forward to coming out and spending the (rest of the) summer in ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½, just getting familiar with everybody and getting acclimated before the season,†he said. “I’m just looking to hit the ground running when camp starts.â€
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