Bill Masterson Nominations Announced

Alfie11 · 04-26-2010, 02:40 PM

Quote:

The three finalists for the 2009-10 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy are Kurtis Foster of Tampa Bay, Jed Ortmeyer of San Jose, and Jose Theodore of Washington.

The Masterton Trophy is presented annually to "the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." The winner is selected by a poll among the 30 chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season. A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.

The trophy was presented by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, a player with the Minnesota North Stars, who exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, and who died Jan. 15, 1968 following an injury sustained in an NHL game.

The winner of the trophy will be announced at the 2010 NHL Awards, to be held in Las Vegas on June 23. The ceremony will be broadcast live from the Pearl Concert Theater inside the Palms Hotel Las Vegas on VERSUS in the United States and CBC in Canada.

Foster, Ortmeyer, Theodore vie for Masterton - NHL.com - Trophy Tracker

Congrats to the three!

Alfie11 · 04-26-2010, 02:41 PM

Mod can you add a poll? Thanks

Jasmine · 04-26-2010, 04:00 PM

done ^^

I'm surprised Taylor Pyatt is not there. He would have my vote.

Spezza'sGirl · 04-26-2010, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasmine

done ^^

I'm surprised Taylor Pyatt is not there. He would have my vote.

No kidding. He would have gotten mine too.

GooSsens · 04-26-2010, 06:00 PM

I gotta go with theodore. I mean, he may hav enot had the BEST year, but he had a child die last summer and stuck with it, other than a minor leave of absence. And I have seen parents who've lost kids... thats not something to just bounce back from.

Taylor Pyatt though I would b e happy to add to that list too.

Alfie11 · 04-26-2010, 06:07 PM

Quote:

The Masterton Trophy is presented annually to "the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." The winner is selected by a poll among the 30 chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the end of the regular season. A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.

Am I the only one who thinks this award should go to a player like Matt Carkner? Being a journeyman in the minors for ten years, then making the Senators after not giving up for all those years.

Erik Karlsson · 04-26-2010, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfie11

Am I the only one who thinks this award should go to a player like Matt Carkner? Being a journeyman in the minors for ten years, then making the Senators after not giving up for all those years.

Nope, i'm right there with you.

Also, what did Foster do to get recognized?

Rayzor123 · 04-26-2010, 06:48 PM

It has to be Jose Theodore. After everything he's been through this summer with his little child dying, and sticking to hockey and putting up a 30-7-7 record in the regular season. Amazing. You have to applaud him for that and this trophy deserves to go to Theo.

Jasmine · 04-26-2010, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erik Karlsson

Nope, i'm right there with you.

Also, what did Foster do to get recognized?

On March 20, 2008, Foster suffered a broken left femur in a game against the San Jose Sharks. Foster suffered the injury when Sharks centre, Torrey Mitchell, checked Foster into the bottom of the boards whilst attempting to prevent an icing call. The hit which resulted in a penalty was later ruled, by the NHL, accidental. Foster had season-ending surgery to repair his broken left femur and missed the remainder of the season and postseason.

Foster was not ready for the beginning of the 2008–09 season but on October 11, 2008, announced he was skating with full gear and feels no pain when skating. On February 9, 2009, Kurtis returned to play for the Houston Aeros of the AHL on a conditioning stint from the Wild. He played in a 6-3 win over the Chicago Wolves and registered 2 PIM.[2]

On July 8, 2009, Foster was signed as a free agent to a one-year contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning.[3]

JoshLind · 04-26-2010, 07:54 PM

Theodore, but after reading up on Ortemyer, WOW:

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The veteran forward not only has to work hard each shift to ensure he has a place in the NHL, but also battles a challenging health condition that requires daily attention. At some point each day, Ortmeyer must use a needle to inject a blood thinner directly into his stomach to combat a hereditary blood-clotting disorder that has threatened not only his hockey career, but also his life.

"It's more important to get the info out there to help people know more about my situation," Ortmeyer said. "Hopefully someone else in a similar situation will have the information to help them determine if they can play."

The process is tricky and the timing must be precise. The blood thinner, Lovenox, needs to be in his system during the down time when he's not on the ice and it needs to be out of his system when he plays or practices so that a hard check or a high stick does not cause fatal bleeding.

Ortmeyer first experienced clotting problems in 2001 following knee surgery and has nearly walked away from hockey twice, most recently in 2008 when he played for the Nashville Predators.

"There have been a couple of times that I thought to myself and talked to my family about not playing again and about whether the risk outweighs the reward," he said. "After rehab, resting and being away from the game, I had the itch and wanted to get back to play."

This season, his first in San Jose, Ortmeyer has set career-highs in goals (8), assists (11) and points (19). An important cog in the team's fifth-ranked penalty killing unit (85.0 percent), Ortmeyer was fifth among all San Jose forwards in average shorthanded ice time per game (1:30).

"Corny as it is and clichéd as it is, I enjoy playing hockey, and they always say you never know when your last shift is going to be," Ortmeyer said. "I wanted to go out on my terms and not be forced out by some medical issue."

Originally signed as a free agent by the New York Rangers in 2003, following an outstanding career at the University of Michigan, Ortmeyer has posted 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 306 regular-season games with the Rangers, Predators and Sharks.

jason1919spezza · 04-26-2010, 08:06 PM

I don't see Matt Carkner...

GooSsens · 04-26-2010, 09:05 PM

I still think Theodore. I actually know alot about clotting diseases and stuff, and it may suck if not taken care of. But really, a little injection twice a day (I'm not sure what adults actually do) but thats not THAT crazy. As long as you keep tabs on things, you are good (although I'm not undermining it, I just think playing hockey and doing super well while having to deal with the death of a child is a little more heroic). If he is a nominee, Gustavsson should be up there too.

Erik Karlsson · 04-26-2010, 11:50 PM

Having to control you're blood AND prepare for the game...Wow...Now THAT deserves recognition!

Life threatening situation and he is stillc commited to hockey.

Choi · 04-27-2010, 01:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jasmine

done ^^

I'm surprised Taylor Pyatt is not there. He would have my vote.

i agree..
pyatt sure deserves it..

JoshLind · 04-27-2010, 01:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GooSsens

I still think Theodore. I actually know alot about clotting diseases and stuff, and it may suck if not taken care of. But really, a little injection twice a day (I'm not sure what adults actually do) but thats not THAT crazy. As long as you keep tabs on things, you are good (although I'm not undermining it, I just think playing hockey and doing super well while having to deal with the death of a child is a little more heroic). If he is a nominee, Gustavsson should be up there too.

For me, it was really the fact that he needs to regulate so much, as opposed to the injections themselves:

Quote:

The process is tricky and the timing must be precise. The blood thinner, Lovenox, needs to be in his system during the down time when he's not on the ice and it needs to be out of his system when he plays or practices so that a hard check or a high stick does not cause fatal bleeding.

With time zone changes and jet lag and other circumstances, I think it's quite an accomplishment. Of course, I still voted for Theodore. But next year, barring some similar tragedy, I really think Ortmeyer deserves to have his name etched on that trophy.

Matt the Aussie · 04-27-2010, 05:11 PM

I agree, Ortmeyer's ongoing struggle with his condition certainly shows "perserverance and dedication to hockey"

GooSsens · 04-27-2010, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoshLind

For me, it was really the fact that he needs to regulate so much, as opposed to the injections themselves:

With time zone changes and jet lag and other circumstances, I think it's quite an accomplishment. Of course, I still voted for Theodore. But next year, barring some similar tragedy, I really think Ortmeyer deserves to have his name etched on that trophy.

I can agree with that. It does take some thought and definite effort. But you have docs and stuff to help you out with it. Most of the patients at work are on blood thinners (due to shunts and what not), and it is really important to control things (and ensure the timing of giving injections and such). But you also have people with you that check your clotting factors (things in your blood work that can tell you what to do essentially). So while it takes crazy and definite effort, but I can assure you its not as stressful as the loss of a loved one/child.

Not that I am trying to downplay him, he deserves definite recognition, but there will be a huge supply of Docs to help him out, to do blood work and what not. And I think that takes a good chunk of the stress out of it.