The Vancouver Canucks will be getting one of their key players back from injury soon.
Dakota Joshua is nearing the end of his recovery after undergoing surgery for testicular cancer. The forward revealed his diagnosis shortly before training camp.
He’s been skating with the team for a little bit and now looks right on the edge of returning to game action. Joshua still wore the red non-contact jersey at practice today but participated in all the drills. He was making some light contact in different scenarios.
Dakota Joshua is still wearing a red non-contact jersey at #Canucks practice but is participating in virtually everything.
He looks very close to a return. pic.twitter.com/qedEHOh8lR
— Noah Strang (@noahstrang_) October 25, 2024
“It’s really close,” said head coach Rick Tocchet about when Joshua will get rid of the non-contact jersey. “It’s really, I hate to say it, going to be up to him.”
“You take it to a certain level when you’re cleared — he’s not, he hasn’t cleared yet —but where he’s going to go ‘I feel a lot better.’ So I think a lot of it is going to be on him when he’s really ready.”
This is the final stage of Joshua’s recovery, and he will provide a big boost when he gets back into the lineup. His mixture of size and skill is rare on this team’s roster and across the league as a whole.
“He needs a few more practices of really getting in there, getting hit from behind a little bit,” Tocchet said. “I think you can skate a guy as much as you can, but if you don’t get action around you, from behind you, in front of you, I think that’s the next step.”
The winger finished last season with 18 goals and 14 assists for 32 points in just 63 games. His time with the Canucks organization has been characterized by consistent improvement, and it’s likely he’ll get more opportunities to thrive alongside better linemates this season.