‘He’s still trying to get his legs. He’s frustrated. Sometimes, you can get away with that by thinking quicker and anticipating where the puck goes.’ — coach Rick Tocchet on Dakota Joshua
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However, the tremendous mental and physical anguish, plus loss of preparation time and games to build on a career season and contract extension, tested his mettle to find peace with it all.
“Until you’re in that position, you can’t really describe (it) and it’s obviously scary no matter what age,” Joshua told reporters on Nov. 1. “But … I’m just very thankful and happy to be standing here in front of you guys today. It was hard to go through, but thankful for how it’s turned out so far.”
It was important to find moments of reflection and laughter in the locker-room.
Once the 28-year-old Joshua donned a non-contact jersey on his road to recovery, it said everything about a forward focus. And in a brief exchange with this reporter that focused on his beloved first-place Detroit Lions, the Dearborn, Mich., native lit up like a Christmas tree.
Joshua, who looks like he would be a good NFL tight end, had a thought when asked about that possible career trajectory.
“You’re not getting enough time with the practice-to-playing ratio,” he said. “That was always my view. And to mix it in with hockey practice would be a lot.
“I played hockey and basketball (power forward) until Grade 10 and probably thought I was better than I actually was at the time.
“I think I chose the right sport.”
Joshua also chose to speak passionately about how his Lions could bolster their roster following the loss of edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson to a broken leg in Week 6.
Joshua said Detroit should pursue Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders to fill the void before the Nov. 5 trade deadline. And despite rumours, the Raiders stood pat, and the next-man-up Lions kept winning.
The Lions are 12-1-0 and have clinched a playoff berth. Meanwhile, the Canucks are 4-6-3 on home ice and looking for consistency answers throughout their lineup.
Fast-forward and Joshua has understandably been tentative in pursuit of the opposition on the forecheck, and by not playing on instinct, he has invited a penchant for penalties.
He returned on Nov. 14 and has two assists and 13 penalty minutes through a dozen games. He has thrown 44 hits and blocked seven shots, so those parts of his game are coming around. But others need to as well.
“I’d rather have him overshoot a look than waiting to see if it (puck) goes to option A, B or C. And it looks like he’s playing slow. That (predictability) is the way to get out of it. Once you water-ski, and put your stick on a guy, the refs are going to call it (penalty).”
Joshua had 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games last season with a willingness to get to the net and show off some soft hands. That hasn’t been there yet.
He also led the club in 2023-24 in regular-season hits (244) — ranking ninth overall in the NHL — and also paced the Canucks in the post-season (74).
Joshua was also a key cog in a vastly improved penalty kill that had a 79.1 per cent efficiency in the regular season and 81 per cent in the post-season.
And most importantly, he measured up in the playoffs with eight points (4-4) in 13 games to earn a four-year contract extension at US$3.25 million in annual average value.
What will help get Joshua back to where he needs to be is a strong support system. He formed a bond with Garland and they connected on-and-off the ice and their conversations are often punctuated by laugher.
The cancer diagnosis only brought them closer.
“He’s a personality that we enjoy having in the room,” said Garland. “A fantastic guy. A fantastic player. It takes time to jump into a regular season.
“I don’t think a lot of people have ever gone through that (cancer surgery) and especially when you’re trying to be a professional athlete and be at your best.
“It’s a different situation. He’s going to have a good year, but timing and getting in shape will take time. Nobody is expecting him to look like he did in the playoffs, at least for a little bit.”