Forward returned to ice nearly a year ago with Canucks following surgery
© Kevin Sousa/NHLI
TORONTO — It is a date Dakota Joshua will forever cherish.
And never forget.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs forward, it is fitting that November is Hockey Fights Cancer Month. After all, it was last November — the 14th, to be exact — when he was able to return to the game he loved after going through his own battle with the heinous disease.
On that special night, the 29-year-old was back on the ice with the Vancouver Canucks after fighting for his life, a journey that started with a diagnosis of testicular cancer in the summer of 2024 and included surgery that September.
Now, Joshua is a member of the Maple Leafs, having been acquired July 17 in a trade from the Canucks for a fourth-round pick in the 2028 NHL Draft.
He will be on the ice Monday, when the Maple Leafs host the Pittsburgh Penguins at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, Prime, NHLN, SN-PIT).
His jersey may have changed, but his gracious appreciation for those who backed him in his efforts to play again — not to mention still being alive — has not.
“Very grateful and thankful,” an emotional Joshua told NHL.com. “It was a big putting-life-in-perspective moment. And then to come back from it and be back here today means a lot.
“And definitely, not that I ever took it for granted, but definitely, now, cherish playing the game more.”
Coming off an NHL career-high 18 goals with the Canucks in 2023-24, Joshua needed time to get up to speed after his return to the Canucks. He finished with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 57 games last season. This year he has three points (two goals, one assist) in a primarily fourth-line role with the Maple Leafs.
In the process, no matter how frustrating certain shifts can be on the ice, no matter how many things might go wrong in a particular game, he understands mere statistics can never truly mirror the long, tough road he’s been on just to get back on blades in the first place.
“I mean, when they first tell you your condition, you’re shocked, surprised, and you can’t believe it,” he recalled. “But you do what you have to do to deal with it, and once again, grateful, thankful to be here now.
“You just face that adversity in life head on. And, moving past it, taking the experience for what it is and making the best out of it. And just moving on. Every day, putting it further and further behind me, and just looking at the positives.
NYI@VAN: Joshua plays for the first time this season following cancer treatment
“Not diminishing it, no. Just putting it behind me.”
Rick Tocchet, now the coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, was the coach of the Canucks at the time. Joshua says he can’t thank Tocchet enough for his support.
“He was behind me every step of the way,” Joshua said. “He was there for me and offered any help. That just means a lot to me to have the availability from a coach at this level. The personal side of it was really nice.
“He’s one of the people I’ll be forever grateful to and for all the support he gave me.”
Tocchet says Joshua deserves credit for his resiliency and determination to overcome the hand he’d been dealt.
“He had cancer and then he had a hip problem, it never seemed to end,” Tocchet said. “The poor guy, he just got slammed with adversity after adversity. But I think he’s going to have a big impact on the Leafs. He’s big (6-foot-3, 206 pounds), you can put him on the penalty kill. He’s tough. He can skate pretty well.
“I think he’s a great fit for Toronto. It’s hard to find those types of guys.”
Tocchet admitted his relationship with Joshua went far beyond the rink.
“We talked a lot,” Tocchet said. “And not just about hockey. It’s personal stuff. It’s not just about hockey. It’s about life too.”
Interestingly, Joshua is the first player to wear the No. 81 full-time for the Maple Leafs since forward Phil Kessel was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2015. Kessel similarly fought testicular cancer early in his career with the Boston Bruins.
It’s a situation Joshua is well aware of.
“It’s a number I’ve been wearing for a while in my career,” he said. “But what a coincidence, huh? As I’ve said before, I love the mojo there.
“I know Phil’s story. He had a great run in Toronto and I hope to have the same.”
Dakota Joshua is just happy to be playing hockey again. Playing anything again. Because, as he admits, the alternative could have been so much worse.
Hockey News