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It’s that time of the hockey season: as the year winds down, fans and pundits start pondering who the NHL Award nominees will be. Obviously, finalist lists won’t be released until the start of the post-season, but everyone has their ideas of who should be on the shortlists.
The fun thing about the Masterton Trophy is that teams start putting their individual nominees for consideration out there for fans to see by the end of March. Teams have already begun releasing their nominees; the Blues have announced Ryan Reaves is their nominee.
Reaves is under consideration for his ability to adapt to the changing gameplay in the NHL and the changing needs of his team. He lost weight this off-season, picked up speed, and improved his skill set to the point where he has four goals, six assists, and sits at a +4 rating. He, with Scottie Upshall and Kyle Brodziak, have been a key cog in Mike Yeo’s current gameplan, and with increased ice-time as a reward, it appears to be working.