Through personal tragedy, Markstrom perseveres
Goaltender, whose play has lifted his team despite family heartbreak, is a nominee for Masterton Trophy
Between personal tragedy and on-ice brilliance, the 2019-20 National Hockey League season has been a remarkable story for Vancouver Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom.
The 30-year-old Swede posted strong numbers again this season, his second straight year of playing to the potential that was so talked about in his younger days. This season he was among the league’s best puck-stoppers and a key reason for the Canucks’ push to the playoffs.
Off the ice has been as difficult as it can be for Markstrom, with his father passing away in early November from cancer. He played on for nearly a month before taking a leave of absence to return to Sweden to be with his family.
And while his life was full of stress and sadness, he played some of the best hockey of his life. Even when he returned from a week in Sweden he upped his game even more, leading his team to a series of surprising wins around Christmas.
For the second year in a row, Jacob Markstrom has been nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in recognition of his perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey by the Vancouver chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association.
The trophy is awarded annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies these qualities. The trophy honours the late Bill Masterton, the only NHL player to die from injuries sustained in a game.
Markstrom is the player on the Canucks team that head coach Travis Green has known the longest, going back to Green’s second season as head coach of the Utica Comets.
Markstrom had been picked up in a trade for Roberto Luongo at the end of the previous season. His first season in Utica saw Markstrom lead the Comets to the Calder Cup final.
In other words, Green knows Markstrom well and he’s proud of who he has become over the six years they’ve been together. Times weren’t always rosy, he said, but through the easy conversations and the tough conversations, there’s been a positive relationship as both coach and player pushed toward an NHL dream.
“He’s grown every year,” Green said. “When I first met him, he had a really strong fire to play in the NHL and make the NHL. I’ve seen him find his way. Grow. Learn. Make bigger sacrifices to become the goalie he is today.
“I’m proud of him. As a coach, you enjoy it when you see players have success. You care about players. You have to.
“I think it’s a great choice,” Green said, then ticking off the three boxes that are essential to the award. “It says a lot about him as a teammate, as a person and as a player. You’re happy when guys get recognized for doing good things.
“He’s dedicated, he plays a lot of games. He’s always ready, in a position to be ready all the time. For sportsmanship, here’s a competitive guy that also has learned to keep his fire burning hot and yet carry himself in the right way.
“You look at what he’s done for our group, first of all, as far as standing in there (every) night and playing very well, standing in to talk to media when it’s hard. But also individually, what he’s persevered through this year with the loss of his father and how he handled that internally within our group for himself and with his family.”
The work he’s put in with goalie coach Ian Clark the last two seasons has been notable.
“He wants his goalies to do great. He wants them to reach their full potential,” Green said of Clark, who returned to the Canucks before the 201819 season after a decade away. He changed the way Markstrom played and connected with him in a way that no goalie coach has ever quite managed before.
“You’ve got to give the player credit for buying in and being open to change and open to being pushed,” Green said. He also handed a great deal of credit to Clark for the sensitivity he showed toward Markstrom at a challenging time.
“Clarkie did a really good job working with him and staying on top of things while still understanding the sensitivity behind what he might be going through. I think it’s important with coaches that they understand the sensitivity needed when a player goes through something that isn’t just hockey-related, that you have to make sure that you as a coach are keeping that in mind as well.”