When it was announced on Monday morning that Philadelphia Flyers rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere has been nominated for the 2015-16 Masterton Trophy by the Philadelphia chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, much of the focus was placed on his recovery from a partial anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear last season.
While it is unusual for a rookie to be nominated for the league's award for perseverance, dedication to the game and sportsmanship, there is more to Gostisbehere's nomination than "just" the fact he overcame the ACL tear that short-circuited his first professional season in 2014-15.
There's a back story that goes beyond his diligent rehabilitation and the 15 pounds of muscle he painstakingly added to his frame over his 10 months off the ice.
As to the injury recovery itself, Gostisbehere was certainly a model of persistence and commitment.
"I never doubted myself, but were some bad days and negative days where you could have had a better day rehab-wise. It’s about the ups and downs in rehab. Take those positives and run with them," he said.
However, the real crux of the nomination, at least as some voters see it, has to do with what came before the injury as much as after it.
Gostisbehere's story is one of an overlooked and undersized prospect hailing from Florida — a non-traditional youth hockey market and a converted forward who later took up playing defense. "Ghost" attended what was then a low-profile college (Union) and was a pivotal player in a Cinderella story that eventually culminated in an NCAA Frozen Four championship.
Gostisbehere was bypassed in the NHL Draft his first year. Even as he established himself as one of the best collegiate players in the country, he was used mostly as a power-play specialist and third-pairing defender on a stacked Team USA squad that won the World Junior championship gold medal.
Each and every step of the way in his still-young career, the Flyers' 2012 third-round pick has defied the odds and the naysayers. He has emerged as one of the most dynamic young offensive players in the NHL and a potential Calder Trophy candidate as NHL rookie of the year. The ACL tear and rehab simply added a little more spice to his candidacy.
It seems unlikely that PHWA voters outside the Philadelphia chapter will get on board with Gostisbehere's candidacy the way they did when an all-but-retired Ian Laperriere won the Trophy as basically a career-long achievement award after post-concussion syndrome prohibited his return to the ice.
That does not mean, however, that "Ghost" was an out-of-left field nomination. Mature beyond his years, he personifies overachievement. There is every reason to believe that, if he stays healthy, he's the real deal in the NHL. Through it all, he has remained modest and aware of the areas of his game that he'd still like to improve.
"He’s one of those kids that has a lot of success early in his career and he looks fine. He’s not cocky at all. He’s just the same kid I met when I used to watch him at Union," said Laperriere, who was the Flyers' player development director at the time Gostisbehere was drafted and is now a Flyers assistant coach.
In franchise history, the Flyers have had three Masterton winners: Bobby Clarke (1971-72), Tim Kerr (1988-89) and Laperriere (2010-11).
Bill Meltzer is a columnist for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @billmeltzer.
