Little Jets nominee for Masterton Memorial Trophy

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This article was published 25/03/2017 (3346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Bryan Little isn’t the flashiest member of the Winnipeg Jets but his enduring professionalism and dedication to excellence was rewarded Saturday afternoon.

The Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association named Little as the Jets’ nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an honour handed out annually to the player who demonstrates qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

The award honours Bill Masterton, a Winnipegger and former member of Minnesota North Stars, who died on Jan. 15, 1968 as the result of injuries sustained in a game.

Each of the league’s 30 teams supply a candidate for the award, which was handed out to Jaromir Jagr of the Florida Panthers last season. No member of the Jets has ever won the big prize and this year’s winner will be unveiled at the NHL awards ceremony in June.

“It’s one of those things that you have to go through something difficult to get nominated for,” said Little following Winnipeg’s 3-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks Friday night. “I’ve had some bad luck with injuries over the course of the last couple of years. I’ve had relative success coming back this year. It is an honour and I wish I was in a better mood today to celebrate it.”

The 29-year-old centre has overcome serious injuries to his back and knee in the last 12 months before returning to the lineup to play some of the best hockey of his career.

“I’ve had some bumps and bruises and I’ve missed some games through the course of my career but nothing too serious and then yeah, I fractured my (back) vertebrate and missed the rest of the season and the first game of this season I hurt my MCL,” said Little

“The most frustrating part was (the injuries were) so close together – basically eight or nine months where I didn’t play a full game. That was the hardest part.”

Little missed 25 games at the end of the 2015-16 season following a devastating hit from Anton Stralman of the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 18, 2016. After a vigorous rehab and fitness program in the off-season, he returned to the Jets lineup for the 2016-17 regular-season opener, only to go down with a knee injury three shifts into the game.

After another 23 games on the shelf, Little quickly regained his old form. He has 20 goals and 39 points in 52 games and is sixth in team scoring. He has spent his entire NHL career with the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise.

“There aren’t any flaws in this guy’s character, you know what I mean,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. ”That’s a tough injury and he worked really hard to get back at it, and again with the knee, (it was) really hard to get back.

“And Bryan was a guy there was no lag when he came off that knee injury. And you expect a week or two for a guy to get back up to speed. There was none of that, he pushed himself so hard in his rehab that he looked like he hadn’t missed a day.

“I can only imagine when you take a hit like that and you break your back and you flash all those things — how bad it could’ve been,” said Maurice. “You see guys with significant injuries get changed a little bit. They play a more perimeter game and he’s never had that.”

Little credits an early start for his dedication to fitness. His father arranged for instruction from a trainer when he was only 13 and he continues to push himself in the gym to this day.

But he’s more than just a good comeback story. Little is widely respected by members of the media and he takes his public role very seriously.

“I’m not going to say it’s your job – but it’s part of being an NHL player,” said Little. “People look up to you, kids look up to you and I’m lucky enough to play in a city like Winnipeg that loves its hockey. And I think part of being an NHL player is being a good role model and getting out there and being in the community and being part of something more than just playing hockey.”

His coach appreciates Little’s approach to his craft.

“Low maintainence, hard working and a real good understanding of the game and a good understanding of how to handle people,” said Maurice. “He would be a player, and I know (incoming assistant coach) Jamie Kompon had the same experience coming in, that you really don’t know but you grow to appreciate quickly.”

BOESER DEBUTS

The Vancouver Canucks will have highly touted prospect Brock Boeser in the lineup Sunday when they face the Jets at MTS Centre (7 p.m., Sportsnet, TSN 1290). He scored a game-winning goal in his NHL debut for the Canucks, a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Wild, Saturday in St. Paul, Minn.

Boeser, a 20-year-old forward chosen in the first round (23rd overall) in the 2015 draft, signed with the Canucks after the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks were eliminated from the NCAA post-season with a 4-3 double overtime loss in the West Regional semifinal to the Boston University Terriers in Fargo, N.D., Friday.

Boeser’s UND teammate, defenceman Tucker Poolman, might have joined him on the ice tonight as a member of the Jets if not for a shoulder injury. Poolman, chosen in the fifth round (127th overall) of the 2013 draft, was unable to play for UND Friday.

He could still sign and play with Winnipeg, which has seven games remaining in the regular season.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14