Rick Tocchet Reveals When Vancouver Canucks Fans Could See Dakota Joshua Return

The Vancouver Canucks have been without forward Dakota Joshua all season so far after the 28-year-old revealed that he was he was diagnosed with testicular cancer during the summer.

Over the last few weeks, Dakota Joshua has been slowly working his way back and ramping up on-ice activities to the point where he's been wearing a full-contact sweater at the team's practices, likely signaling that a return to the lineup is close.

Vancouver Canucks fans have been wondering when they may see Dakota Joshua return to game action and it appears to be very close.

When meeting with reporters on Monday after practice, Head Coach Rick Tocchet said there's a possibility that Dakota Joshua could be in the lineup on Thursday night as the team hosts former captain Bo Horvat and the struggling New York Islanders.

During Monday's practice, Dakota Joshua was skating on the Canucks' fourth line with Aatu Raty and Nils Hoglander, according to Sportsnet's Brendan Batchelor. With Joshua not playing in Tuesday's game, it's expected that the Canucks will call up a forward from Abbotsford (AHL).

It's great to see that Dakota Joshua is doing well and is nearing a return to the Vancouver Canucks lineup. The team will likely ease him back in, given that he hasn't played since Game 7 against Edmonton back in May, but eventually it'll be interesting to see if Rick Tocchet reunites the Joshua-Blueger-Garland trio, who were arguably the best third line in the league last season.