Dakota Joshua named Canucks' "unsung hero" in annual team awards

Though it might be his first season with the team, it hasn’t taken much time for Vancouver Canucks forward Dakota Joshua to make an impact.

On Saturday, the team announced that the 26-year-old American centre was named the team’s “unsung hero” in the annual team awards, as decided by a fan vote.

Joshua has 11 goals, 12 assists and 23 points in 76 games for the Canucks this season, all of which are career highs. He also leads the team in hits among current players with 216, while averaging a career high 11:30 of ice time per game.

“His determined and physical two-way play has made positive impacts in all situations, particularly on the penalty kill, and his presence on the ice has been a welcome addition to the club,” the Canucks wrote in a release.

A 2014 fourth round pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Joshua first broke into the league in the 2020-21 pandemic shortened season with the St. Louis Blues. He spent two years in St. Louis’ organization, before signing on a two-year contract with Vancouver this past summer.

Joshua was one of five Canucks to pick up team awards this year, with Elias Pettersson leading the way with three: Team MVP, leading scorer, and the Three Stars Award for winning the most postgame selections at games this season.

• Fred J. Hume Award – “Unsung Hero” (fan vote): Dakota Joshua
• Cyclone Taylor Trophy – “Most Valuable Player” (fan vote): Elias Pettersson
• Walter (Babe) Pratt Trophy – “Best Defenceman” (fan vote): Quinn Hughes
• Pavel Bure Award – “Most Exciting Player” (fan vote): Andrei Kuzmenko
• Daniel and Henrik Sedin Award – “Community Leadership”: Brock Boeser
• Cyrus H. McLean Trophy – “Leading Scorer”: Elias Pettersson
• Three Stars Award – “Most Three Stars Selections”: Elias Pettersson

Though they’ve wrapped up a season to be forgotten in Vancouver with their final home game last night, the Canucks have three road games left to close out their regular season this week, where they travel to Los Angeles and Anaheim tomorrow and Tuesday, before closing out the season with a contest at Arizona’s Mullett Arena on Thursday night.

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• Dakota Joshua named Canucks' "unsung hero" in annual team awards