An Award for a Maple Leaf???

Every year, one player from every NHL team is nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

But what is the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy you ask???




"The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.... It is often awarded to a player who has come back from career- or even life-threatening illness or injury. A player can receive this trophy only once in his career."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Masterton_Memorial_Trophy


Several players that have donned the blue and white have won this award in the past, however only 1 player has won it while being a standing member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That player was Jason Blake.

• 1982–83 Lanny McDonald (Calgary Flames) Presented for his dedication; he was traded around the league numerous times, and when he was traded to the Flames, he scored 66 goals and 32 assists for 98 points.
• 1995–96 Gary Roberts (Calgary Flames) Successfully recovered from possibly career-ending surgery to correct bone spurs and nerve damage
• 2003–04 Bryan Berard (Chicago Blackhawks) Overcame an eye injury that rendered the eye legally blind.
• 2006–07 Phil Kessel (Boston Bruins) Missed 12 games because of testicular cancer mid season.
• 2007–08 Jason Blake (Toronto Maple Leafs) Was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia but still played a full 82-game season.
• 2008–09 Steve Sullivan (Nashville Predators) Played 41 games this season after missing almost two years due to a fragmented disc in his back, and a strained groin.

TORONTO'S LATEST NOMINEE - THE MONSTER

Jonas Gustavsson is this year's nominee. The Monster overcame the death of his mother and two heart operations in 2009.

Gustavsson lost his mother to chronic lung disease just before signing with the Leafs. His father died four years earlier.

Starting the season with the Leafs, Jonas was found to have a heart condition. He underwent 2 surgical procedures to correct the issue.

With the heart problem fixed, Jonas had another setback with a groin strain

Despite the issues, the young Goaltender improved his play on the ice, leading to seven straight wins with the Leafs, along with a spot on the Swedish Olympic Team.

Olympic Leafs

For all of you people willing to admit to being a fan of the Toronto Maple Leaf fan... (all 5 of us), I have done a bit of research.

Here are the stats for Leaf players in the Olympics (as of 2 o'clock Feb 18. I will try to update this list after a couple of more games.



The list is short!

*For those of you who don't know the name Korbinian Holzer, he is a Leafs prospect in Germany.

Analysis

Now I really don't think expectations are very high for most of these players.

Tomas Kaberle is playing on a Czech team, that may surprise a few people, but is not a medal favorite. You may see Tomas rack up a lot assists, especially on the power play, as he feeds Jagr for tap-ins.

Korbinian Holzer is a young German (22 years old) who will likely only play in the 3rd defensive pairing. To me, he is in these Olympics just to get the experience (he is the future for German hockey). Keep an eye on Holzer, as the 6'3" 200lbs defender could head to the Marlies in the next few years.

Jonas Gustavsson will dress for a pretty stacked Swedish team, but don't expect him to get a lot of minutes. Much like Holzer, he is here for the experience. If he does get some ice time, I would expect his Goals Against to be low as Sweden's defence is SOLID! (Ohlund, Murray, Lidstrom, Kronwall, Enstrom, Oduya, Tallinder, and Johansson).

Finally, Phil "the snipe" Kessel. Brian Burke has tried to make team USA the underdog in this tournament (thus expectations are a little bit lower). Kessel will be expected to score goals, but being on the second line the pressure falls a little more on Parise, Statsny and Kane. However, if the first line isn't clicking, watch for Kessel to get more ice time.

For updated results... check out http://www.vancouver2010.com/olympic-hockey/schedule-and-results/men_ihm400000nUSA-vtour_team_stats-SF.html

GO CANADA GO!