NFL Draft: Beanie Wells Disputes Injury Rumors
April 22, 2009Open Thread: Royals at Indians
April 22, 2009Amidst his playoff struggles, a bit of good news for Columbus Blue Jackets rookie goaltender Steve Mason: on Wednesday he was named one of three finalists for the Calder Memorial Trophy, given each season to the league’s outstanding rookie. The trophy will be awarded June 18th in Las Vegas.
At only 20 years old, Mason, pressed into duty for the Jackets this season in November because of injuries to Pascal LeClaire and ineffectiveness from former backup Fredrik Norrena, took the opportunity to play and ran with it. He made 61 starts (only missing nine games along the way), and finished with a 33-20-7 record. He led the NHL with 10 shutouts, and was second to Boston’s (presumed Vezina Trophy winner) Tim Thomas in goals-against average at 2.29. Mason’s .916 save percentage tied him for 11th in the league in that category as well.
Among the litany of franchise records set by the ‘08-‘09 team, Mason’s 33 wins and 10 shutouts set franchise record for each category, and his 2.29 gaa and .916 sv% were second only to LeClaire’s records of 2.25/.919, set during the ‘07-‘08 campaign.
Mason came into the 2008′-2009 season recovering from knee surgery, and also battled mononucleosis in January and February, making his solid play during the season that much more impressive.
3 Comments
I’m assuming, from my vast hockey knowledge that begins and ends with “the Blue Jackets Pepsi Power Pack girls are hot,” that for a franchise to be successful it starts with a good goalie.
This guy seems to be better than LeClaire and Denis. Is it safe to say the CBJs will only improve on next season or is this a smoke-and-mirrors 2007 Browns season-esque?
So many uses of the term “smoke and mirrors” today.
I think they should improve. A few reasons:
#1, as you mention, is they have a solid young goaltender. Granted, he’s getting roughed up a bit in the playoffs, but there are a few factors in play here: a) he’s only 20, b) he’s only played one season in juniors prior to this, and his workload this year has been much much higher, c) he is still only one year removed from major knee surgery, and d) he battled mono for a good chunk of the season. And he still put up those numbers.
#2, they have a solid coach with playoff winning experience. They also have a GM who has shown to be shrewd, who doesn’t panic and mortgage the future for the now, and who is definitely on the same page with the aforementioned solid coach.
#3, the amount of young talent that they have NOW is reason to think they’ll continue to get better. They earned 92 points this year, and have their core nucleus coming back. In addition, they’ve already got Derick Brassard coming back (who was on his way to a solid season before getting hurt) and Nikita Filatov (four goals in eight games) on the roster NOW. Both of those guys will be playing the full season (presumably) next year. Add in an offseason of roster moves, and this team is primed to improve next season.