Dakota Joshua confirms the message from Leafs coach Craig Berube was heard loud and clear

Dakota Joshua arrived with expectations of size, pace and forechecking bite, yet his start has been unspectacular.

Berube, never shy about accountability, challenged him directly this week by way of a 1-game healthy scratch. The coach wants harder shifts, more weight on pucks and a presence that tilts momentum.

The 28-year-old Joshua surprisingly agrees with the scratch and the message.

After a Thanksgiving Day skate in Washington, Joshua admitted he has not met the standard that the team expects from him and that he expects from himself. There was no deflection and no frustration, only ownership of a season he knows must improve.

The message from Berube was simple, as Joshua outlined this week.

"We need more out of you. And I agree with him," Joshua told Sportsnet this week. He added that he has "no arguments" with Berube's demands. It was a candid response from a player who has always played his best when emotion sits close to the surface.

Joshua also acknowledged the reality inside the room. "Everybody's smart in here and gets the sense of how you're playing," he said. He knows it has not gone well, but believes the runway is long enough to correct it.

Fans have seen flashes from Joshua, especially on the forecheck where his pace and frame can cause chaos. The problem is consistency. Berube values predictability from depth forwards, especially in puck battles and defensive routes, and Joshua has drifted between sharp and quiet.

The healthy scratch earlier in the week was not meant to bury him, but to refocus him. Players often talk about watching the game from above and seeing the structure differently, and Joshua seems determined to use that perspective to his advantage.

This is the kind of challenge Berube gives players he believes can climb, not ones he is ready to discard. Joshua's response suggests he understands that he is being given an opportunity. He has the tools to be a disruptive, momentum shifting middle six forward, and Toronto could use that spark right now.

If he leans into Berube's push, the Leafs will feel it quickly, and Joshua knows the responsibility sits squarely with him.