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VANCOUVER — For more than six weeks, Dakota Joshua has been around his Vancouver Canucks teammates, travelling and socializing with them and absorbing their support as the 28-year-old recovers from testicular cancer.
He has been skating with them for two weeks, inching nearer to a National Hockey League return that feels imminent after Joshua fully practised on Friday and then spoke with reporters for the first time since his shock cancer diagnosis near the end of August.
There have been more good days than bad ones for Joshua as he gets healthy, but the most important day in his recovery may have been Sept. 17.
That’s when Joshua released a statement through the Canucks that revealed his diagnosis and treatment — surgery to remove a testicular tumour — and urged men to pay attention to their health and get checked for testicular cancer.
The statement was part public service announcement and part therapy for Joshua to power through any unease or stigma he felt about discussing his particular form of cancer and amplify the conversation about men’s health.
“I don’t usually read the comments on social media, but I did for that one,” Rich Evans, Joshua’s Vancouver-based agent, told Sportsnet on Friday afternoon. “So many people reached out to him, and the response was overwhelmingly positive for Dakota. It gave him a lot of energy for his recovery.”
“If it helps one person, I’m glad that I could help them,” Joshua told reporters after the Canucks practised at the University of British Columbia. “And, you know, just to shed light on. . . males all around the world, just to get checked, that was a point of coming out and telling everybody. If I could help someone, you know, it was worth it.
“People have reached out and for sure let me know their experiences. It feels good and, you know, nice to know that you’re not the only one that’s gone through something tough. Gratifying is a good word.”
That support and sense of purpose have helped drive Joshua.
“It’s really hard to put in words,” he said of his cancer diagnosis. “You know, kind of something that you can’t really be prepared for. But the support from my family, friends, the fans, the organization as a whole, everybody’s been so nice and, you know, very caring, which I love to see. It made the tough time a lot easier.
“It’s obviously scary, no matter what age. I’m just very thankful and happy to be standing here in front of you guys today. Very hard to go through, but thankful for how it’s turned out so far.”
The Canucks have missed him.
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The summer began with the team re-signing the power forward to a four-year, $13-million contract, a reward that few would have predicted two years earlier when general manager Patrik Allvin took a calculated, low-cost bet on Joshua in free agency with the belief the organization could help turn him into an everyday NHL player.
The native of Dearborn, Mich., became much more than that last season when he emerged as a productive and powerful third-line player alongside Conor Garland and Teddy Blueger, scoring 18 goals and 32 points in 63 games despite missing six weeks with a hand injury.
Joshua also became a key penalty killer for Vancouver and finished ninth in the NHL with 244 hits. He also backed up his breakthrough regular season with a strong playoff run as the Canucks went to Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup tournament.
It was one year ago this Saturday that Joshua was actually healthy-scratched by coach Rick Tocchet. But the player’s response to it helped him become a template for the way Tocchet wants the Canucks to play: direct, physical, mobile and smart. Strong along the boards, tough in front of the net.
No wonder teams were lining up to pitch offers to the six-foot-three forward had he become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
The Canucks open a three-game California road trip Saturday against the San Jose Sharks. Tocchet has compared the return of Joshua to trading for an impact player.
“He’s a tough guy to play against, so anytime you add a guy like that to the lineup, it’s just contagious,” Tocchet said Friday. “You need systems guys, right? You want guys to be creative; you can’t be just 100 per cent (focused on the) system. But I think he knows at certain times where you count on a guy to be there at that time, nine times out of 10, he’ll be there. We just need more of the same attitude where guys have to be where they’re supposed to be at certain times. He’s a system guy.”
As the Canucks scuffled through October at 4-2-3, collecting points despite not playing to their capabilities, Tocchet talked about the team losing its identity.
Joshua is a player who should help them get it back.
“I mean, that’s what I’m trying to do,” Joshua said. “It’s the start of the season. You’ve got some new faces, everybody’s still trying to gel and get on the same page. So, I think that’s pretty normal for any team to go through. But yeah, I hope to have a big impact there and help form the identity of this team and be a part of winning hockey games.”
ICE CHIPS – Since Joshua is on injured reserve, the Canucks will have to re-assign someone from their 23-player roster when he is ready to return. Arshdeep Bains is the only waiver-exempt forward on the roster. Tocchet described Joshua’s status as day-to-day. . . With rookie goalie Arturs Silovs struggling (0-2-1, .797 save percentage), Tocchet said there is a mental challenge along with the physical one for the 23-year-old. But the coach doesn’t want to see the negative body language he witnessed in Wednesday’s 6-0 embarrassment against the New Jersey Devils. “Not just him, a lot of guys,” Tocchet said. “Like, 4-2-3, we are in OK shape (in the standings). But to me, it’s the mental aspect of our game, and I think body language is something we have to work on. Not to the extent when I first got here, but it’s creeping back in and. . . that’s my job to make sure that I address it.”
