New Toronto Maple Leafs forward Dakota Joshua is ecstatic to play under Craig Berube again.
The player and coach spent two seasons together while in the St. Louis Blues organization, from 2021 to 2022. Although Joshua only played 42 games during the two years, Berube was the one who gave the forward his NHL debut on March 1, 2021.
During Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill on Wednesday morning, Joshua revealed that he’s spoken with the Toronto coach after being acquired by the club on July 17.
“I spoke to him on the phone the other day,” Joshua said.
“He’s a great guy and great coach. He was the one who kind of gave me my first shot in the league and I’ll forever be thankful to him for that. It was nice to see how he ran the team and obviously makes it that much more exciting to join and play for him again. Familiarity goes a long way.”
Joshua, a fifth-round (128th overall) pick by the Maple Leafs in the 2014 NHL Draft, called returning to Toronto a “full circle” moment. While Toronto was in a transition period in 2019, the Maple Leafs traded Joshua to the Blues in exchange for future considerations.
The 29-year-old participated in several Maple Leafs development camps during the summer while still at Ohio State University. A part of those camps were players like Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Joseph Woll, who are now key pieces to the Maple Leafs.
“Those three, I guess, (I know) personally, a little bit of time with,” he smiled. “But, new group to me, and makes it exciting and happy to join those guys.”
Joshua heard rumblings that he could be on the move around the 2025 draft. The chatter quieted down towards free agency, but it picked up again towards the middle of July. Ultimately, Toronto traded a 2028 fourth-round pick to the Vancouver Canucks for Joshua, who has three more seasons at a $3.25 million cap hit.
After a delayed start to the season due to testicular cancer surgery, the 6-foot-3 forward scored seven goals and seven assists in 57 games. The season before the diagnosis, Joshua tallied 18 goals and 14 assists in 63 games, plus eight points (four goals and four assists) in 13 playoff games.
He admitted that it felt as though he was playing catch-up last season after returning to the Canucks’ lineup in mid-November. With everything now behind him, Joshua believes he can be even better than the player he was in the years prior.
“I like to think that I can do a little bit of everything. A big part of my game is getting in on the forecheck and being disruptive, but also providing a physical presence. I believe in myself that I can score, too,” he said.
“I feel like I add a bit of everything, somebody that can play up and down the lineup and in all situations. Whatever Leafs Nation needs, I feel like I can provide.”
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