Maple Leafs select Dakota Joshua 128th overall

The Maple Leafs have drafted centerman Dakota Joshua of Sioux Falls (USHL) with their 128th overall selection.  A second consecutive American college kid selected after picking John Piccinich 103rd overall.

Joshua stands 6’2, 185-pounds and could play for Ohio State next season but may opt to stay another year in the USHL to further develop his offensive game before moving onto college hockey.

The #Leafs take a player I like a lot. Dakota Joshua. We had him ranked 76th overall – size, smarts and skill. Possible steal at this pick

— Mark Edwards (@MarkEdwardsHP) June 28, 2014

Big centers with skill are always intriguing and this sounds like an interesting project to keep an eye on.

Dave Morrison on Dakota Joshua

“He’s another swing at the fence for us. A real potential guy. He’s very raw in a lot of different ways. He’s tall, he’s a very athletic kid, and we saw some flashes of some real good skill toward the end of the year with that team. His coaches couldn’t say enough good things about him. He’s very diligent in his two-way game and he appears to have some offensive potential, so we’re really excited. He could’ve gone into Ohio State next year but he wants to stay and play another year in the USHL to give himself more time to develop his offensive game. We’re kind of excited about him, too, just by the mere fact that he’s still growing and he showed those things you like in a player. At this point I would call him a ‘top 9’ potential player.”

Dakota Joshua Scouting Report

Joshua was a bit buried on Sioux Falls roster this year behind some very good veteran players, but still put up a very respectable 38 points in 51 games in his first USHL season. Joshua has always been a player with a big frame and high potential. While he’s not all the way to reaching his full potential, he showed enough signs of positive growth over the course of the year to suggest he’s on his way to doing so.
– Land Grant Holy Land

Joshua has a big frame and is magnificent at using his size and long reach to protect the puck from attacking players. He’s still relatively skinny for his size, but once he fills out, he has the potential to be a true power forward that handles the puck well enough to be a consistent scoring threat.
– SB Nation College Hockey

Dakota Joshua Stats