Joshua Skating With the Marlies Group, Opener Still in Question

Dakota Joshua was on the ice Monday, which is something, but he was skating with the Marlies group rather than the main camp body — a distinction that matters. The team listed him as uncertain for the season opener, and that tracks with where this camp has been from the start.

When I noted in my September 12 piece that Toronto was opening camp with five players already sidelined, Joshua was on that list alongside Matthews, Tanev, Domi, and MacEwen. None of those situations have resolved cleanly. Domi remains out indefinitely. The others have no firm timelines attached. Joshua moving to the Marlies group is a step, but it is not a return to full practice, and it does not change the math on how many bodies are unavailable.

The broader picture here is a roster that has been rebuilt significantly — Bobrovsky in net, Andrae added on the blue line, Blankenburg on a PTO — but that rebuild is being stress-tested before a game has been played. Depth signings like Colton Sissons and Brendan Brisson help at the margins. They do not replace what is missing when your forward group is this thin going into October.

Joshua's situation is worth watching over the next week. If he moves into the main group before the opener, that is a small piece of good news for a team that could use some. If he does not, Toronto starts the season shorter than it planned.