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Steve Mason (ice hockey)

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Steve Mason
Born (1988-05-29) May 29, 1988 (age 36)
Oakville, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Catches Right
NHL team Columbus Blue Jackets
NHL draft 69th overall, 2006
Columbus Blue Jackets
Playing career 2008–present

Steve Mason (born May 29, 1988 in Oakville, Ontario) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender, currently playing for the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Steve Mason started his junior career in 2005–06 with the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). After playing 12 games in his rookie junior year as a backup, he was selected by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 3rd round, 69th overall, in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. Mason started the 2007–08 NHL season with the Columbus Blue Jackets but was returned to London after being a healthy scratch for Columbus' first two games of the season. While competing for Team Canada at the 2008 World Junior Championships, he was traded by the London Knights to the Kitchener Rangers on January 4, 2008, hours before the semi-final game.

Upon returning from the World Junior Championships with a gold medal, Mason was briefly recalled by the Blue Jackets on an emergency basis in February, but did not appear in a game and was quickly returned.[1] Nearing the end of the season back with the Rangers, Mason suffered a knee injury, but with the playoffs approaching, he tried to play through it for several weeks. After defeating the Plymouth Whalers in the first round, Mason was pulled out of the lineup and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery on April 18, causing him to miss the remainder of the OHL playoffs, as well as the 2008 Memorial Cup.[2] Kitchener won the OHL championship without Mason, but lost 4-1 in the Memorial Cup final against the Spokane Chiefs.

Approaching his first professional season, Mason underwent an additional knee surgery in September for his injured knee, causing him to miss the first month of play in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Blue Jackets' minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.[3] Shortly after recovering and joining the Crunch's lineup, Mason was called up by the Blue Jackets on November 4, 2008 in the absence of injured starter Pascal Leclaire. He made his NHL debut on November 5, starting against, and defeating, the Edmonton Oilers 5-4.[4] Teammate R. J. Umberger handed Mason the game puck commemorating his first NHL victory.[citation needed] He recorded his first NHL shutout several games later on November 22, making 15 saves in a 2–0 win against the Atlanta Thrashers.[5] Mason continued to start games upon Leclaire's return from injury and was named NHL rookie of the month for November after posting a 5-2-1 record, including 3 straight wins and 2 shutouts.[6] In the midst of shutout streak, having not allowed a goal against the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Anaheim Ducks, he was named rookie of the month for December. Along with Mason's three straight shutouts, he posted a 7-5-0 record, 1.41 GAA and .950 save percentage for the month.[7] Chosen to play for the rookies at the 2009 NHL YoungStars Game, he opted, however, to skip the competition. It was later revealed on January 30, 2009, by Columbus general manager Scott Howson, that Mason had been suffering from mononucleosis for the previous three to four weeks. After three more starts, on February 8, Mason was put on the injured reserve.[8] He returned to the lineup on February 13 against the Detroit Red Wings, recording a 3–2 Columbus victory.[9] Mason finished the season with a 33-20-7 record, 2.29 GAA and .916 save percentage. He is the winner of the 2009 Calder Memorial Trophy for rookie of the year,Kris Versteeg of the Chicago Blackhawks and Bobby Ryan of the Anaheim Ducks were the other nominees. [10] On April 27 2009, the NHL announced that Mason was nominated for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goaltender. He is nominated along with Tim Thomas of the Boston Bruins and Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild.[11]

International play

Steve Mason
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2008 Czech Republic

Mason first competed for Team Canada at the under-20 level in the eight-game 2007 Super Series against Russia. He then led Team Canada to a gold medal at the 2008 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Prior to the semi-final game against Team USA, Mason was traded within the OHL from the London Knights to the Kitchener Rangers. After defeating Team Sweden 3–2 in overtime of the gold medal game, Mason was named the player of the game, tournament MVP and Top Goaltender.

Career statistics

Regular season

   
Season Team League GP W L OTL SL MIN GA SO GAA SV%
2005–06 London Knights OHL 12 5 3 0 0 497 22 0 2.66 .931
2006–07 London Knights OHL 62 45 13 1 3 3733 199 2 3.20 .914
2007–08 London Knights OHL 26 19 4 1 2 1569 73 2 2.79 .916
2007–08 Kitchener Rangers OHL 16 13 3 0 0 961 33 1 2.06 .915
2008–09 Syracuse Crunch AHL 3 2 1 0 0 184 5 0 1.63 .937
2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 61 33 20 7 0 3664 140 10 2.29 .916
OHL totals 116 82 23 2 5 6760 327 5 2.90 .916
AHL totals 3 2 1 0 0 184 5 0 1.63 .937
NHL totals 61 33 20 7 0 3664 140 10 2.29 .916

Playoffs

   
Season Team League GP W L OTL SL MIN GA SO
2006 London Knights OHL 4 0 0 1 0 150 7 0
2007 London Knights OHL 16 9 7 0 0 931 54 0
2008 Kitchener Rangers OHL 5 5 0 0 0 313 10 1
2009 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 4 0 4 0 0 239 17 0
Career playoff totals 29 14 11 1 0 1633 88 1

[12]

Awards

Junior

NHL

  • Named Rookie of the Month for November and December 2008.
  • The Sporting News' Rookie of the Year 2009
  • 2009 Calder Trophy winner

Records

References

  1. ^ "Blue Jackets send Steve Mason back to OHL". CBC. 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  2. ^ Reed, Tom (April 17, 2008). "Hot Jackets property has knee injury". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved May 30 2008. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Blue Jackets lose Steve Mason for 4-6 weeks". CBC. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  4. ^ "Goalie Steve Mason makes his mark with Columbus Blue Jackets". The Hockey News. 2008-11-111. Retrieved 2008-12-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ "Mason helps Blue Jackets blank Thrashers". Sports Network. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  6. ^ "Blue Jackets goalie Steve Maso named NHL rookie of the month". Canadian Press. 2008-12-02. Retrieved 2008-12-02.
  7. ^ "Blue Jackets G Steve Mason named rookie of the month again". National Post. 2009-01-02. Retrieved 2009-01-02. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Jackets admit goalie Mason needs a rest". CBC. 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2009-02-09.
  9. ^ "Blue Jackets mark Mason's return by snapping Red Wings' win streak". USA Today. 2009-02-13. Retrieved 2009-03-12. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ "Ryan, Versteeg, Mason selected as nominees for Calder Trophy". TSN. 2009-04-22. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  11. ^ "Mason, Thomas, Wild's Backstrom Vezina finalists". Associated Press. 2009-04-27. Retrieved 2009-04-29.
  12. ^ "Steve Mason OHL Stats". Retrieved December 27 2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |dateformat= ignored (help)
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