Over the next couple of weeks, the NHL will be revealing some of their award winners during the pregame show or intermission of games in the semifinals. Today was the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player who “best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey”. This year’s recipient is Flyers winger Oskar Lindblom.
Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer, back in December 2019, causing him to miss the rest of the regular season. However, with the pandemic delaying the playoffs until the summer, he was able to get into a couple of games in the bubble while he was a finalist for the Masterton as well. This season, the 24-year-old played in all but six of Philadelphia’s 56 games this season, recording 14 points while averaging a little over 13 minutes per game. More importantly, he was ruled cancer-free at the one-year anniversary of his diagnosis.
Lindblom is the fourth Flyer to win the award, joining Bobby Clarke (1972), Tim Kerr (1989), and Ian Laperriere (2011) as Philadelphia recipients.
The other two finalists for the award were San Jose’s Patrick Marleau who became the all-time games played leader and Minnesota’s Mathew Dumba, a co-founder of the Hockey Diversity Alliance.
Congrats, Oskar! Very happy for you, bud!
Great choice!