Dakota Joshua has been identified with testicular most cancers and received’t be on the ice when the Vancouver Canucks open coaching camp Thursday.

The 28-year-old ahead had an NHL career-high 32 factors (18 targets, 14 assists) in 63 regular-season video games in 2023-24 and had eight factors (4 targets, 4 assists) in 13 Stanley Cup Playoff video games.

He signed a four-year, $13 million contract ($3.25 million common annual worth) on June 27.

“This summer season, I felt a lump on considered one of my testicles that docs would later diagnose as testicular most cancers,” Joshua mentioned in an announcement launched by the Canucks on Tuesday. “This information was clearly scary to listen to, however fortunately, docs have been capable of efficiently take away the tumor. The final a number of weeks have been extraordinarily difficult and I have been lucky to have the help of my household, pals, teammates and docs.

“Sadly, I can’t be prepared for the beginning of coaching camp as I proceed to heal from surgical procedure. I plan on returning to play as quickly as attainable this season and I’m working laborious each day (to) rejoin my teammates.

“Though it was very tough to face the truth of this particular kind of most cancers, getting checked by a health care provider shortly was the perfect method and I encourage males to get checked repeatedly for testicular most cancers. As I proceed with my restoration, I thank everybody upfront for respecting my privateness regarding this matter. The group will present updates as acceptable. Within the meantime, I thank everybody for his or her help and understanding.”

Vancouver opens the 2024-25 season at residence towards the Calgary Flames on Oct. 9.