Joseph Duszak
Born (1997-07-22) 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
AHL team
Former teams		 Springfield Thunderbirds
Toronto Marlies
Dinamo Minsk
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2019–present

Joseph Duszak (born July 22, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the American Hockey League (AHL)

Playing career

Amateur

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]

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]

On August 30, 2022, Duszak signed a one year contract with HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) after failing to make the Leafs during his 3 year tenure in the Leafs organization.[23]

Following a successful season with Minsk, Duszak opted to return to North America in securing a one-year AHL contract with the Springfield Thunderbirds, the primary affiliate to the St. Louis Blues, on July 6, 2023.[24]

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 — — — — —
2020–21 Toronto Marlies AHL 25 4 8 12 8 — — — — —
2021–22 Toronto Marlies AHL 61 7 45 52 62 — — — — —
2022–23 Dinamo Minsk KHL 68 9 36 45 60 3 0 0 0 8
AHL totals 111 14 68 82 96 4 1 0 1 0
KHL totals 68 9 36 45 60 3 0 0 0 8

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 [25]
AHA Defensive Player of the Week November 2019 [26]
ECHL
All-Rookie Team 2019–20 [27]
AHL
Second All-Star Team 2021–22 [28]

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. 1 2 Boyd, Joshua (August 12, 2016). "Player of the Year Duszak credits USPHL for development". usphl.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  4. 1 2 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. 1 2 "JOSEPH DUSZAK". hurstathletics.com. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  7. 1 2 "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. 1 2 3 "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. 1 2 "Duszak Selected To AHCA All-America Second Team". hurstathletics.com. April 12, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  14. 1 2 "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. ↑ "Joseph Duszak signs with HC Dinamo Minsk". eng.belta.by. August 31, 2022. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
  24. ↑ "T-Birds sign D Joseph Duszak to one-year AHL contract". Springfield Thunderbirds. July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Duszak Adds Another Accolade: HCA National Player of the Month". hurstathletics.com. February 5, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  26. ↑ "Duszak Named AHA Defensive Player of the Week". hurstathletics.com. January 29, 2019. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  27. ↑ "ECHL Announces 2019-20 All-Rookie Team". ECHL. April 2, 2020.
  28. ↑ "2021-22 AHL First, Second All-Star Teams unveiled". American Hockey League. April 28, 2022. Retrieved April 28, 2022.

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

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Dylan McLaughlin
 Atlantic Hockey Player of the Year
2018–19		 Succeeded by
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