Maser motivated for his New York audition
Josh Maser has never been to New York City and he’s a not exactly a frequent flier to the United States.
The only trips south of the border the 20-year-old left winger has ever made have been on the Prince George Cougars bus, riding to the team’s WHL U.S. Division destinations.
Now that he’s on the New York Rangers’ radar, Maser’s passport could be getting stamped much more frequently. The Cougars most valuable player last season turned the heads of NHL scouts with his rugged work habits and goalscorer’s touch and the Rangers were the first to bite when they sent him an invitation to their rookie camp in New York, Sept. 4-11.
“It’s going to be a little different coming from one of the smallest towns in Canada to New York – the only time I’ve left Canada was to go the States to play Portland and Seattle and stuff,” said Maser. “Houston has maybe 2,500 people and there’s one stop light in town here. Just being in New York will be an experience by itself.
“I’m pumped, it will be fun,” he said. “I just want to see how I am against everyone else. The competition there will be top-end and it will be fast and fun hockey to play.”
Maser’s consistency was one of the bright spots in an otherwise miserable 2018-19 season for the Cougars. After a 28-goal, 49-point sophomore season, the six-foot-two, 215-pound Houston native led the Cats with 30 goals last season and also contributed 12 assists for 42 points in 61 games. They missed the playoffs for a second-straight year and endured a clubrecord 17-game winless streak which led to the firing in February of head coach Richard Matvichuk.
Mark Lamb took over behind the bench and has since shed the interim head coach tag and Maser says there’s legitimate cause for optimism as he prepares for training camp at CN Centre next weekend.
“Obviously we want to be winning games out there, especially for the fans who come out every night, and I think this year we’ll definitely be ready to go,” said Maser, acquired by the Cougars in October 2016 in a trade from the Prince Albert Raiders which sent winger Adam Kadlec to Prince Albert.
“Mark is definitely a bit harder on us, but none of it’s bad. It’s constructive criticism. Just in our practices at the end of the year,we really brought the tempo up and it seemed to be working out against some of the better teams. At the end of the season I think we were playing some of our best hockey and we have to carry that through into next season and come out hot.”
Maser and his twin brother Tyler, a forward in the AJHL for the Fort McMurray Oil Barons, have been skating with Dan Hamhuis in nearby Smithers and they’ve been on the ice throughout the summer with a group of junior and pro players in Nick Drazenovic’s Northern Elite Hockey skills camp in Prince George.
“I’m excited to get things going,” said Josh Maser. “We’ve got a new coach and new assistant coach (Jason Smith) and both those guys are very knowledgeable hockey players and they’ve both been through the ropes and I’m excited to hear what they have to say and excited to learn from them.”
Maser was an assistant captain with the Cougars last year. Now that captain Josh Curtis has moved on to university hockey Maser is a good bet to wear the ‘C’ this season. Last year he played the left side mainly on a line with centre Ethan Browne and right winger Vladislav Mikhalchuk. Browne, 18, is back from another season but the 20-year-old Mikhalchuk will be playing in the KHL in Russia.
“We have a solid leadership group in that room and some of us have been together four years so we’re pretty close, and that will be a big part of our team’s success this year,” he said. “We have a lot of younger guys coming up who have reached that age where it’s kind of their time to shine and they’re in the spotlight now.
“A lot of guys I know have been training really hard in the summertime and I think they’re going to come to camp and just blow a lot of guys away. It took one summer for me, after not being in the lineup consistently, to realize I wanted to be a player on the ice every time and not be in and out of the lineup. I think a lot of guys will come in with that mentality and want to play bigger minutes and play a bigger role.”
Maser’s versatility as a skilled forward who plays with an edge makes him a logical fit on the Cougars’ top line, drawing occasional double-duty on the fourth line to create breathing room for some of the younger forwards. His shot-blocking and defensive-zone play improved significantly in his third WHL season and he learned how to stay calm under pressure with the puck on his stick. As a result, he became better at the holding his team in the offensive zone, which led to scoring chances. The Cougars scored just 152 goals in 68 games and 30 of those goals were Maser’s.
Maser will go through fitness testing when he gets to New York, then head to Traverse City, Mich., to play for the Rangers’ in the rookie tournament. The eightteam tournament includes the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild, St. Louis Blues and Toronto Maple Leafs.
Blackhawks draft pick Cole Moberg, 18, picked by Chicago in the seventh round (194th overall) in June, will likely cross paths with Maser in Traverse City. The 18-year-old Moberg was one of 11 defencemen who attended the ‘Hawks development camp in July.
Cougars goalie Taylor Gauthier, 18, wasn’t drafted in his first year of eligibility but has earned an invitation to the Boston Bruins rookie camp. Gauthier was among five goalies who attended the Bruins’ development camp in late June in Boston.