NHL releases full list of Masterton Trophy nominees

The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has released its list of 31 nominees for the 2019-20 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton Trophy, as it is more commonly known, is awarded annual to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication. Traditionally the award has been given out to a player who has authored an incredible comeback story of some sort. 

This season there are plenty of worthy candidates with names like Bobby Ryan, Connor McDavid, Jay Bouwmeester, Shea Theodore and Oskar Lindblom standing out on a first glance.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

Personally, I think my three choices for final candidates would be Ryan, Bouwmeester and Lindblom. 

Ryan overcame an addiction to alcohol and was forced to leave his team in order to get treatment. He returned a new man and seems to have won his battle with alcoholism. 

Bouwmeester, of course, shockingly suffered a heart attack on the bench during a game earlier this season and was rushed to hospital. He has yet to return to action and its unknown whether or not his NHL career will continue.

Lindblom was one of the Philadelphia Flyers’ top players when he was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in December of 2019. He is undergoing treatment and is expected to make a full recovery.