Canucks’ Dakota Joshua has surgery for testicular cancer, will miss start of camp | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats and Rumors

Vancouver Canucks centre Dakota Joshua has revealed he won’t be ready for the start of training camp after being diagnosed with testicular cancer this summer.

Joshua released a statement on Tuesday saying he underwent surgery in which doctors successfully removed the tumor. He described the last few weeks as “extremely difficult” and thanked his family, friends, teammates and doctors for their support.

“Unfortunately, I will not be ready for the start of training camp as I continue to recover from my surgery,” he said. “I plan to return to play as soon as possible this season and I am working hard every day to join my teammates.”

It comes after Joshua agreed to a four-year, $13 million contract with the Canucks in June.

“Dakota has had a good season for us and has made great strides in his game,” general manager Patrik Allvin said when the team announced the deal. “We really like his size, speed and physicality. He fits well into our system and the way we want to play hockey and I look forward to seeing him continue to develop under the guidance of our coaching staff.”

Joshua played the first two seasons of his career from 2020-22 for the St. Louis Blues before joining the Canucks ahead of the 2022-23 campaign.

He had the best season of his career in 2023-24, finishing with 32 points on 18 goals and 14 assists in 63 games. He also posted a plus-19 rating and helped Vancouver win the Pacific Division title and the second round of the playoffs.

Joshua finished with four goals and four assists in 13 playoff games for the Canucks.

Vancouver will play its first preseason game of the upcoming campaign on September 24 against the Seattle Kraken. Its first regular-season game will be on October 9 against the Calgary Flames.