Ed Mulholland-USA Today Sports
Stephen Gionta was the New Jersey Devils’ pick for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Masterton is awarded to the individual who best exemplifies perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport of hockey. Each team chooses one nominee. The Professional Hockey Writer’s Association then looks at the 30 candidates and three finalists are picked. The winner will be announced at the NHL Awards this summer.
Generally,the awards take place in Las Vegas in June after the Stanley Cup Finals. However, this year a date and a place have yet to be announced. The Cup finals will be running longer than usual due to a delayed start of the season with the lockout which means Sin City is unable to find an available date.
Ken Daneyko was the last Devil to win the Masterton, taking home the prestigious award in 2000.
For the 29-year-old Gionta, just the nomination has been a wonderful surprise.
“Any time you can get nominated for that or any award is huge,” Gionta said in an interview with Tom Gulitti on his Fire and Ice Blog. “You go out every day and we’re playing a game for a living so you can’t not have fun and try to put everything you have into it because you don’t know how long it’s going to last.”
The wait was a long one for Gionta who toiled seven seasons in the minors after graduating from Boston College. He finally got a major opportunity in last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Finals and made the most of it. Gionta’s gritty play was a vital part of the team’s success last spring.
For the Devils this year, Gionta has netted four goals and 10 assists.
Gionta’s older brother, Brian, was a one time Devil and now plays for the Montreal Canadiens. The pair faced each other in last night’s game at the Prudential Center. This year however, Gionta will be watching to see how far big brother will go in the postseason which was not the case a year ago.
Dawn Miller is a New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. Follow her on Twitter, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
