EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association announced Wednesday they have selected goaltender Calvin Pickard as the Oilers nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
The 32-year-old is in the midst of the best season of his NHL career, posting a 20-9-1 record with a 2.64 goals-against average and .902 save percentage in 33 appearances.
Pickard's previous-best win total came in 2016-17 when he played in 50 games for the Colorado Avalanche with a 15-31-2 record. Since that season, he appeared in just 30 games at the NHL level before emerging as the Oilers backup netminder last year and going 12-7-1 in 23 appearances, plus a pair of post-season starts.
It's been more of a split in net between Pickard and Stuart Skinner this season, with the latter making 49 appearances alongside the Moncton, New Brunswick native's 33.
"I couldn't do it without all of my teammates and staff," Pickard said of the nomination. "I've grinded for a little bit up and down from the minors for years and got a really good opportunity here last year to come up. It's been the time of my life being up here. I enjoy every day of it."
"To reach that 20-win mark is pretty remarkable for a guy that's gone through as many stops as he has," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "He's a very popular player in the room because of his personality but also his work work ethic, and he's always there for his teammates. The guys were very excited to hear that he was recognized for that."
The Masterton winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. An Oilers player has never won the award, with Arizona Coyotes goaltender Connor Ingram taking the honour last year.
