The Toronto Marlies have re-assigned Joseph Duszak to the Newfoundland Growlers, but the rookie defenceman isn’t heading this way,
He wouldn’t be even if flights to St. John’s weren’t being cancelled because of the state of emergency in the city
Instead, Duszak is off to Wichita, Kan., site of Wednesday’s ECHL all-Star Classic. Duszak is the Growlers’ representative at the event, which features a four-team, three-on-three round-robin tournament involving Western and Eastern Conference all-star squads and two entries comprised of players from the host Wichita Thunder.
Despite missing 10 of the Growlers’ games this season, mostly while on recall to the Marlies, Duszak’s 27 points (8G, 19A) in 29 games still makes him one of the top-scoring rookies and defencemen in the ECHL.
And as a player under contract to the parent Toronto Maple Leafs and former nominee for the Hobey Baker Award while playing for Mercyhusrt College, the 22-year from Long Island, New York, is expected to get a lot of attention in Wichita, where he will be part
With a limited number of playing spots available, ECHL teams (except for Wichita) have only one representative in the all-star tourney, which also incorporates a skills competition. However, forwards JJ Piccinich of The Tulsa Oilers and Josh Kestner of the Toledo Growlers, two players who were with the Growlers as they won the ECHL championship last season, will be in Wichita with the Western Conference team.
There has been no definitive announcement on whether Duszak will return to the Marlies or rejoin the Growlers after the all-star game. If it’s the latter, he would hook up with North Division-leading Newfoundland (29-10-0) , which will be looking to extend its 11-game winning streak as it plays three weekend road games, beginning Friday night in Reading, Pa., against the Royals.
Twitter: @telysports
