On Tuesday, the Dallas Stars via twitter have nominated Mattias Janmark for the 2017-18 Masterton Trophy. The trophy is awarded to the player who shows commitment to the sport of hockey.
Mattias Janmark earns Dallas Stars Masterton nomination for remarkable comeback
Last year during the training camp in a pre-morning skate prior to the preseason game against the Colorado Avalanche, Janmark felt a pain in his right knee and couldn’t bend it. He went to the doctor and found out that he was diagnosed with Osteochondritis dissecans, in which cracks appear in the cartilage and underlying bone has worse. He missed most of last season after he had knee surgery to correct the problem after finishing his rookie year with the Stars when he scored 15 goals in 13 games.
Mattias Janmark’s comeback
This season has been a different story for Janmark after he came back from the career-ending rare knee injury. He has returned to the Stars lineup with confidence and to show everyone he is ready to play his hardest yet. His linemate, Jason Spezza told the Dallas Stars Website, how he was impressed with his comeback from the injury.
“He’s just a great player. He’s a really smart hockey player,” Spezza said. “He’s a great skater and he’s so good on his edges, and I don’t think people realize how strong his legs are. I think because he’s a slight guy or looks like a slight guy on the ice, he catches some ‘D’ not realizing how fast he is wide. He pumps his legs. He’s got big legs. He’s a big, strong kid down low. He’s just kind of slender up top. I think he surprises a lot of guys with his outside speed.”
His speed and hockey smarts have helped him be one of the best players on a Stars team that is not making the playoffs again. On a team where secondary scoring has been hard to come by for the Stars, Janmark has netted 19 goals in the 72 games he has played. That is fourth behind Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and Alexander Radulov. He’s also dominated special teams player who leads the team with a pair of shorthanded goals.
Mattias Janmark has shown the Stars and the NHL to why he deserves the Bill Masterson Trophy. He has become one of the Stars most reliable players and it is showing so far this season.
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