Canucks’ Dakota Joshua to make season-debut after cancer recovery
Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua is set to make his return Thursday night against the New York Islanders, head coach Rick Tocchet announced.
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VANCOUVER — Two months after undergoing surgery to remove a tumour and two games before the Vancouver Canucks stage Hockey Fights Cancer night, Dakota Joshua returns to the National Hockey League team’s lineup Thursday night against the New York Islanders.
It will be the first game for the 28-year-old winger since the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, the first game since he returned to Vancouver to prepare for this season and was diagnosed in late summer with testicular cancer.
“I think mentally, it’ll take care of itself,” Joshua said after Thursday’s morning’s skate at Rogers Arena. “Getting back out there is really the only way to find out.
“For sure, that was, you know, a scary time. But I’m very thankful, and just happy to be in this position still and be able to go out there and play.”
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The power forward from Dearborn, Mich., has been practising with teammates for three weeks. Joshua told Sportsnet during the Canucks’ sweep of California last week that he wanted to be as strong as possible, mentally and physically, before returning.
Joshua will start on the Canucks’ fourth line, replacing Arshdeep Bains on left wing beside Aatu Raty and Nils Hoglander.
“It’s like making a major trade,” Canucks coach Rick Tocchet told reporters. “He’s a big kid that’s got great hands. Obviously, he’s played really well for this organization, especially last year, so we’re excited to have him back. He’s gone through a lot of stuff and I love the way he’s dealt with it. We’re just happy for him.”
Joshua became a key supporting player for the Canucks last year, scoring 18 goals in 63 games during his breakthrough regular season before adding another four goals and eight points in an impressive 13-game playoff run.
Despite missing five weeks with a broken hand late in the year, he also finished seventh among NHL forwards with 244 hits. The Canucks re-signed him in late June to a four-year, $13-million contract.
“Obviously, I’m ecstatic,” Conor Garland, Joshua’s linemate all of last season, said of his friend’s return to playing. “And I’m happy it’s at home for him, too. The crowd should really be juiced to see him back, and it’ll be fun for his first shift. He’s a great guy, worked really hard, dealt with some stuff and he has come out on the other side. He looks really good in practice. For our team, it’s a huge add for us. It’s like adding a big-time player at the deadline, so we’re all excited to get him back.”
Returning to play is a massive step for Joshua. Despite the surgery that cost him all of training camp and the pre-season, Joshua is challenging himself to play well immediately as he parachutes into the regular season with the Canucks sitting at 8-3-3.
In the middle of a six-game homestand, the team is starting a three-games-in-four-nights dash that includes contests Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks and Sunday against the Nashville Predators.
“You don’t really know until you get out there, so we’ll see what we’ve got,” Joshua said. “I want to come back and, yeah, make sure I’m on top of it right from the get-go and be ready to help the team win. I expect to be good. I don’t expect a grace period. I’ve been putting the work in, so I expect to, like I said, come out there and make an impact as soon as possible.
“Not ideal to start, you know, a couple weeks into the season. But that’s where we’re at.”
Canucks Projected Lineup
Forwards
Suter-Miller-Lekkerimaki
DeBrusk-Pettersson-Garland
Heinen-Blueger-Sherwood
Joshua-Raty-Hoglander
Defence
Hughes-Hronek
Soucy-Myers
Brannstrom-Desharnais
Goalie
Lankinen
Silovs
