Derek Joslin (born March 17, 1987) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He most recently played for EC VSV of the ICE Hockey League (ICEHL).
He has played in the National Hockey League for the San Jose Sharks, with his NHL debut coming during the 2008-09 campaign, Carolina Hurricanes and the Vancouver Canucks. The Sharks drafted him in the 149th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Joslin played major junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Ottawa 67's. During his time in the OHL he was an All-Star and represented Canada in the Subway Super Series. After finishing his OHL career he played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Worcester Sharks, where he was also an All-Star.
Early life
Joslin was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario. He began playing hockey at the age of 4 for the Oak Ridges Kings. His coach was his father, Jeff, who himself played defence at the junior level for the Peterborough Petes. As a youth, Joslin played in the 2001 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Vaughan. Joslin's first job growing-up was as a caddie at Beacon Hall Golf Club.
Playing career
Junior
Joslin was selected in the 10th round, 200th overall, of the 2003 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) priority draft by the Ottawa 67's. He made his major junior debut as a 16-year-old during the 2003–04 season, playing in 7 games, though he spent the majority of the year with the Aurora Jr. B Tigers in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). In the OJHL he amassed 16 points in 36 games.
Joslin began following season with the 67's. He scored Ottawa's first goal of the year, which was also his first career OHL goal, against goaltender Patrick Ehelechner of the Sudbury Wolves. In 68 games he registered 6 goals and 30 points. The point total ranked him second on the team in defence scoring and 18th for all OHL rookies. Ottawa qualified for the playoffs after finishing sixth in the Eastern Conference. Joslin helped the 67's advance to the OHL Finals where they lost to the London Knights. Since London was the host team for the 2005 Memorial Cup the 67's qualified for the tournament as the OHL representative despite their loss. During the OHL playoffs and Memorial Cup Joslin played sparingly due to a broken Scaphoid bone. He registered 3 assists in 21 total playoff games, while Ottawa won just 1 game in the Memorial Cup. During the off-season Joslin was drafted in the 5th round, 149th overall, of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks.
In the 2005–06 season Joslin increased his point production to 11 goals and 48 points. Leading the 67's in defence scoring and finishing 14 for defence scoring in the OHL. During the season he was selected to play in the Subway Super Series. Representing the OHL against the Russian selects he played in one game without registering a point, in an OHL 5–1 victory. The win helped the Canadian Hockey League go undefeated winning the series 6–0 over the Russians. During the OHL playoffs he was a point a game player scoring 1 goal and 5 assists as the 67's lost their first round match up to Peterborough 4 games to 2. After the 67's were eliminated he made his professional debut playing two games for the American Hockey League's (AHL) Cleveland Barons.
Joslin returned to the 67's for the 2006–07 season and on December 28, 2006 he signed an entry level contract with San Jose. Shortly after signing he was named to the OHL All-Star game. In the game, he notched an assisted while registering a +5 rating. Joslin finished the season with almost identical scoring stats registering 11 goals, 38 assists and 49 points. The assist total ranked him third on the team, while he finished tied for 16 in OHL defence scoring. He was again a point a game player in the playoffs registering 1 goal and 4 assist while the 67's lost their first round match-up with the Belleville Bulls 4 games to 1. Like the year before Joslin played in the AHL following the 67's playoff elimination, appearing in three regular season and four playoff games for the Worcester Sharks without registering a point.
Professional
He joined Worcester full-time for the 2007–08 season. He scored his first professional goal, a game-winning goal, against the Manchester Monarchs on the power play. He finished the season playing in a career high 80 games scoring 10 goals and 34 points.