CONFIRMED: The Vancouver Canucks Make it Official for Dakota Joshua's Return

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Maverick Mitchell
November 14, 2024 (1:11 PM)

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The Vancouver Canucks have now confirmed that fan favorite power forward Dakota Joshua is set to make his return and season debut tonight against the New York Islanders.

The Vancouver Canucks have missed Joshua dearly, and It has been a long road back from a life-changing summer.

Dakota Joshua has been out of commission since the offseason, missing all of training camp and preseason after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Fortunately, they caught it early and had emergency surgery to remove the cancerous tumor and has been recovering for the last few months.

His head coach and teammates cannot be happier to have him back in the lineup as he brings so much positivity, physicality, grit and leadership to the Canucks.

"He's gone through a lot of stuff and I've loved the way he's dealt with it. We're just happy for him.» - Rick Tocchet

Canuck Conor Garland, on the return of Dakota Joshua from cancer:

«I'm ecstatic. And I'm happy it's at home too. The crowd should really be juiced to see him and it'll be fun for his first shift. He's a great guy, dealt with some stuff and has come out on the other side.»

Head Coach Rick Tocchet commented on what it means to have Joshua back in the lineup, he even compared the anticipation to when a player is acquired through a major trade.

Rick Tocchet on getting Dakota Joshua back tonight: «It's like making a major trade.»

Reported by what was seen at Vancouver Canucks practice today in UBC Arena, Joshua will be slotted in on the fourth line with Aatu Raty and Nils Hoglander. It is not a surprise that Joshua will be making his debut playing a smaller amount of minutes as he previously disclosed to the media that he plans on managing his ice time.

It is obviously the right choice to have him play less, but you know how we Vancouver Canucks fans are, they want to see the reuniting of Joshua and Connor Garland. Last season, the pair played 542 minutes with one another at 5v5. When the duo were on the ice, the Canucks outscored their opponents 0-13 .
Nonetheless, Garland has earned a well deserved promotion in the lineup playing with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. It will be interesting to see how head coach Rick Tocchet navigates the lines moving forward, and tonight will be a big test.