Joshua, Garland beasts on ice, buddies off it
Canucks linemates are built differently, but both scratched, clawed way to NHL
Dakota Joshua didn't attend the 2014 NHL draft in Philadelphia. It's understandable.
“I was at home in a car,” the Dearborn, Mich., native recalled Tuesday morning. “Somebody from the Leafs called me.”
Joshua was a fifth-round selection, a 128th-overall temptation by Toronto to see if the big kid with raw skills could eventually develop into a player at the pro level.
It was the same draft when the Vancouver Canucks picked Jake Virtanen sixth overall. The irony isn't lost on anybody who has witnessed the long desire here to land a true power forward.
Joshua now looks like one. Virtanen never was. He was last seen in Germany with the Fischtown Pinguins of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga.
Run this by Joshua and you get a knowing nod and some self-satisfaction.
He did the work. He sucked up Rick Tocchet's tough love, and at age 27 is finally having his NHL arrival party. It's not just the career-high 18 goals and 32 points — despite missing 18 games with a hand injury. It's his presence.
Joshua is a quicker and fitter force with a zest to hit and finish scoring plays with some pretty soft hands. He scored twice Sunday in the series opener against the Nashville Predators to power the rally in a 4-2 victory.
“That's my game and how I'm going to make it in this league,” stressed Joshua, an unrestricted free agent in line for a sizable raise. “I know that. It's about rounding out my game, and I strive to be a power forward, who can play physically and make plays.”
Joshua and linemate Conor Garland share more than a story of having to prove themselves.
For the big Joshua, it was improving his skating and dedication to lead the Canucks in hits, and finish ninth overall this season with 244.
For the diminutive Garland, it was proving that he could measure up in a big man's game as a fifthround 123rd overall draft pick in 2015.
“It's having that mutual adversity and the different ways we had to battle to get here,” said Joshua. “It plays a lot into our connection. We had to grind it out.
“I knew of him when he was with the Coyotes — a little s--t disturber — and I never saw this coming to be the tandem we are.
“It's a lot of love and it's a lot of fun. He's just the guy who loves the game and doesn't take anything for granted. We know how hard it is to get where we're at, so we joke around a lot about that.
“He keeps it light. And I keep it light.”
Joshua and Garland are dinner-mates and seatmates on team charter flights.
“He runs the Social Corner,” Joshua said with a chuckle about frequent visits to the Vancouver restaurant. “That's his spot.”
As much as their chemistry on the ice is dynamic, a zest to hound the opposition and create scoring chances, they are good friends off it. That in itself is interesting. Joshua grew up close to the gritty Detroit experience, and Garland a 45-minute drive from the more tony Boston.
“We probably wouldn't have met if it wasn't for hockey,” said Joshua. “We just take little digs at each other. He's been in the league a while and has the good setup with a beautiful home and me trying to aspire to get there.
“And he'll get chatty on the plane. Sometimes, I have to shut him out.”
Garland would laugh at that. “We're pretty close friends,” he said. “He's a good guy and what you look for in linemate.”
From Pius Suter to Teddy Blueger and now Elias Lindholm as their centres, the common theme is a dynamic duo who can play with anyone.
They throw no-look passes knowing where the other is going to be. Garland will dive in on the forecheck to disrupt and dish passes, and good luck moving Joshua from the front of the net when he gets a sweet feed.
“It's just repetition with us,” added Joshua. “We keep building, and we get that sense that everybody is going to be in their same spot. And that's what makes it so good with Lindy (Lindholm). He fills in the gaps around it.”
And when either of them score, the celebrations are as different as their height and size.
Joshua throws two hands to the sky and lets out a big shout. Garland looks more like a figure skater and will often swoop down low on one knee and punch the air in exuberance.
“His celebrations need work, but they 're fun after the fact,” said Joshua. “Every time he scores, you can see the passion and how happy he is.”
Then there's Joshua.
After scoring the winning goal Sunday, he got in Garland's space on the bench with a celebration that looked part hip-hop and part rapper.
“I can't remember exactly what I was saying to him,” said Joshua. “We had to come through and it was a time in that moment to celebrate that we made a play.”