Joseph Duszak

Joseph Duszak (born July 22, 1997) is an American professional ice hockey defenceman for the HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

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

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. He was also named USPHL Premier Defenseman of the Year. Although he played two games for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League, Duszak eventually returned to the USPHL.

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. At the end of the season, he was named to the Atlantic Hockey Association's All-Conference Second Team and Mercyhurst's Top Defenseman.

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. With his assistance, the Mercyhurst Lakers jumped from sixth in the conference to fourth. He led all the Atlantic Hockey conference defenseman in points and tied for the league lead in points and assists. Duszak was also nominated for the Hobey Baker Award as the top National Collegiate Athletic Association men's ice hockey player and selected for the AHCA All-America Second Team. He was also named to the All-Atlantic Hockey First Team. As a result of his play, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Duszak to a two-year entry-level contract.

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

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.

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.

As a free agent from the Blues, Duszak's KHL rights were traded by Dinamo Minsk to Russian club, Severstal Cherepovets in exchange for prospect Nikita Guslistov on July 17, 2024.

In 2024, Duszak signed with Severstal Cherepovets of the KHL and was later moved to Kunlun Red Star in exchange for monetary compensation. After registering 18 points through 35 appearances to close out the season, Duszak remained with the newly rebranded organization in signing a one-year contract extension with the Shanghai Dragons on August 19, 2025.

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 2023–24 Springfield Thunderbirds AHL 60 9 29 38 63 — — — — — 2024–25 Severstal Cherepovets KHL 9 1 3 4 2 — — — — — 2024–25 Kunlun Red Star KHL 35 3 15 18 57 — — — — — 2025–26 Shanghai Dragons KHL 16 0 8 8 10 — — — — — 2025–26 Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk KHL 23 0 5 5 24 — — — — — AHL totals 171 23 97 120 159 4 1 0 1 0 KHL totals 151 13 67 80 153 3 0 0 0 8

Awards and honors Award YearUSPHL USPHL Player of the Year 2015–16 AHA Defensive Player of the Week November 2019 ECHL All-Rookie Team 2019–20 AHL Second All-Star Team 2021–22