Joseph Duszak

Joseph Duszak (born July 22, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman. He is currently playing for the Toronto Marlies in the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Joseph Duszak
Born	July 22, 1997 Franklin Square, New York, U.S.
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Defense
Shoots	Right
NHL team (P) Cur. team	Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Marlies (AHL)
NHL Draft	Undrafted
Playing career	2019–present

Playing career

Early career

At the age of 15, Duszak joined the P.A.L. Junior Islanders of the United States Premier Hockey League (USPHL).[1] During the 2014–15 season, Duszak committed to attend Mercyhurst University and play for the Mercyhurst Lakers Division 1 men's ice hockey team.[2]

In his last season with the Junior Islanders, Duszak was named the 2016 USPHL Player of the Year after ending the 2015–16 year with 60 points.[3] He was also named USPHL Premier Defenseman of the Year.[4] Although he played two games for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League, Duszak eventually returned to the USPHL.[5]

Collegiate

In his freshman year at Mercyhurst, he played in 29 games and ended the season with 5 goals and 16 assists. In his sophomore season, Duszak tallied 9 goals and 22 assists in 35 games.[6] At the end of the season, he was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association's All-Conference Second Team[7] and Mercyhurst's Top Defenseman.[8]

In his final year with the Mercyhurst Lakers, he had a break out season. Duszak led the team with 16 goals and recorded his first career hat trick in a 4–3 win over the Holy Cross Crusaders.[9] With his assistance, the Mercyhurst Lakers jumped from sixth in the conference to fourth.[10] He led all the Atlantic Hockey conference defenseman in points and tied for the league lead in points and assists.[6] As a result, he was named the Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year and Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman.[11] Duszak was also nominated for the Hobey Baker Award as the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player[12] and selected for the AHCA All-America Second Team.[13] He was also named to the All-Atlantic Hockey First Team.[14] As a result of his play, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Duszak to a two-year entry-level contract.[15]

Professional

On May 3, 2019, Duszak recorded his first career AHL goal in a win over the Cleveland Monsters.[16] In June 2019, Duszak was invited to the Toronto Maple Leafs Development Camp.[17] After attending the Maple Leafs training camp, he was reassigned to the Toronto Marlies for the 2019–20 season.[18] He subsequently joined their ECHL team, the Newfoundland Growlers, for their training camp[19] and made their opening night roster.[20] On November 12, he was recalled to the AHL[21] but demoted shortly thereafter.[22]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2013–14	P.A.L. Junior Islanders	USPHL		34	1	16	17	22		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	P.A.L. Junior Islanders	USPHL		50	18	39	57	74		2	1	1	2	2
2015–16	P.A.L. Junior Islanders	USPHL		42	14	46	60	107		2	2	2	4	14
2015–16	Chicago Steel	USHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2016–17	Mercyhurst College	AHA		29	5	16	21	34		—	—	—	—	—
2017–18	Mercyhurst College	AHA		35	9	22	31	22		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Mercyhurst College	AHA		37	16	31	47	42		—	—	—	—	—
2018–19	Toronto Marlies	AHL		2	0	0	0	2		4	1	0	1	0
2019–20	Newfoundland Growlers	ECHL		34	9	26	35	34		—	—	—	—	—
2019–20	Toronto Marlies	AHL		23	3	15	18	24		—	—	—	—	—
AHL totals				25	3	15	18	26		4	1	0	1	0

Awards and honors

Award	Year
USPHL
USPHL Player of the Year	2015–16[3]
USPHL Premier Defenseman of the Year	2015–16[4]
College
Atlantic Hockey Association's All-Conference Second Team	2017–18[7]
Atlantic Hockey Best Defenseman	2018–19[11]
Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year	2018–19[11]
All-Atlantic Hockey First Team	2018–19[14]
AHCA All-America Second Team	2018–19[13]
HCA National Player of the Month	November 2019[23]
AHA Defensive Player of the Week	November 2019[24]
ECHL
All-Rookie Team	2019–20[25]

References

1. Frazier, Nick (December 10, 2018). "Duszak fuels Mercyhurst's charge, with ex-P.A.L. Junior Islanders teammates". nyhockeyjournal.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
2. "Joe Duszak Commits to NCAA D-I Mercyhurst University". usphl.com. November 18, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
3. Boyd, Joshua (August 12, 2016). "Player of the Year Duszak credits USPHL for development". usphl.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
4. Judge, Pete (March 28, 2016). "PAL's Duszak Named USPHL Premier Defenseman of the Year Junior Hockey News". juniorhockey.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
5. "Joseph Duszak – The USPHL Is My League Of Choice". thejuniorhockeynews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
6. "JOSEPH DUSZAK". hurstathletics.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
7. "9 of 11 Atlantic Hockey Members Represented on All-Conference Teams". atlantichockeyonline.com. March 8, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
8. "Men's Ice Hockey Announces Team Awards for 2017-18 Season". hurstathletics.com. April 15, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
9. "Duszak Records Hat Trick as Men's Ice Hockey Defeats Holy Cross 4-3". hurstathletics.com. January 4, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
10. Burgess, Melissa (February 8, 2019). "Mercyhurst Has Its Own Hobey-Worthy D-Man". collegehockeynews.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
11. "Duszak Named Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year, Best Defenseman, Lammon Top Defensive Forward". hurstathletics.com. March 21, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
12. "Barach, Duszak Nominated for Hobey Baker Award". hurstathletics.com. January 16, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
13. "Duszak Selected To AHCA All-America Second Team". hurstathletics.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
14. "Barach, Duszak Selected To All-Atlantic Hockey First Team". hurstathletics.com. March 14, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
15. "Maple Leafs sign college free agent Joseph Duszak to entry-level deal". sportsnet.ca. March 13, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
16. "Carcone Scores Overtime Winner in Game Two". marlies.ca. May 3, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
17. "Men's Ice Hockey Sends Four Players to NHL Development Camps". hurstathletics.com. June 17, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
18. "Maple Leafs Trim Training Camp Roster". nhl.com. September 25, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
19. "GROWLERS ANNOUNCE 2019-20 TRAINING CAMP ROSTER". nlgrowlers.com. September 30, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
20. McCarthy, Brendan (October 5, 2019). "The Newfoundland Growlers will be a little green on the blueline". The Guardian. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
21. "ECHL TRANSACTIONS - NOV. 12". echl.com. November 12, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
22. "ECHL TRANSACTIONS - NOV. 15". echl.com. November 15, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
23. "Duszak Adds Another Accolade: HCA National Player of the Month". hurstathletics.com. February 5, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
24. "Duszak Named AHA Defensive Player of the Week". hurstathletics.com. January 29, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
25. "ECHL Announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team". ECHL. April 2, 2020.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database