Kylington could be Flames' first Masterton winner in nearly 30 years

The Calgary Flames have announced that defenceman Oliver Kylington is their nominee for the Masterton Trophy.

The Masterton is an annual award that goes to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

While all 32 teams put a nominee forward, it feels like Kylington will have a legitimate shot at winning the award. The 26-year-old has faced a ton of adversity over the last year and a half, but has been able to overcome it and is back contributing to the Flames.

After the 2021-22 season, which was a breakout year for Kylington, he was rewarded a two-year, $5 million contract. It looked like a deal that had a chance to quickly become a bargain for the Flames, given how well the Swedish defenceman had played the season prior.

That quickly changed, however, when Kylington wound up missing the entire season due to mental health struggles. He never revealed what exactly was going on, but did open up about the situation in an interview this past offseason.

“It was mental and psychological problems I suffered from,” Kylington said in Swedish (translated with Google Translate). “I think I’m dealing with the problem like maybe everyone else does, by just sweeping it under the rug and putting the lid on, but for me, it led to mental illness, and I felt very bad about how I handled my problems and almost hit the wall and felt that enough is enough.”

It was believed that Kylington was ready to go for the start of the 2023-24 season, but that changed when the Flames announced on the opening day of training camp that he was unfit to participate. Things went quiet regarding his situation for a while, until he joined the team in early December and went on an AHL conditioning stint soon after.

Kylington was able to rejoin the Flames on January 25 in a game versus the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was his first time suiting up in an NHL outing since the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs, and the crowd gave him a roaring ovation ahead of puck drop.

We love you Shilly! pic.twitter.com/lrOdlZUCEw

— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) January 26, 2024

Kylington has now suited up for 27 games this season, scoring two goals and five points while averaging just shy of 17 minutes in ice time. By all accounts, he has looked very solid on the back end, which is quite remarkable given how much time he missed. He is certainly deserving of the Masterton and would be the first Flame to win it since Gary Roberts in 1996.

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