Ondrej Pavelec is Winnipeg Jets 2015 Bill Masterton Memorial Award nominee

For those unaware the The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is given to a player who “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”

I was perusing the full list of nominees on the Professional Hockey Writers Association web site this morning and saw that the Jets beat writers had nominated goalie Ondrej Pavelec as the team’s nominee this season.

Last season the Jets nominee was Olli Jokinen.

Jets Release:

The Winnipeg Jets are proud to announce that goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has been named the team’s nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually by the National Hockey League.

The trophy is awarded to an NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey. The winner of the trophy is selected by all members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association (PHWA) after the regular season. Pavelec was nominated by the PHWA Chapter of Winnipeg.

In a statement provided by the head of the PHWA Chapter of Winnipeg, Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press stated: “Our membership is pleased to nominate Ondrej. Clearly, among all the qualities and criteria integral to the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, perseverance struck a chord with our members given Ondrej’s prominent performances in the season’s critical stages. We are also pleased to nominate a worthy candidate for the award that honours the memory of a well-rounded, hard-working Winnipegger, Bill Masterton.”

Pavelec, 27, is playing in his seventh NHL season and fourth with the Winnipeg Jets. In his career, he has played 334 NHL games and amassed a record of 132-141-42 with 13 shutouts. The product of Kladno, CZE was recently recognized as the NHL’s First Star of the Week for the period ending March 22/15. It was the second time in Pavelec’s career that he was awarded the NHL’s First Star of the Week, previously earning the accolade on Nov. 18/10.