Pavelec Jets’ nominee for Masterton trophy

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This article was published 04/04/2015 (4152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Goalie Ondrej Pavelec, who has helped the Jets stay afloat in their bid for a Stanley Cup playoff spot, is the Winnipeg nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.

Members of the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association made the nomination.

Pavelec’s name will apear on a ballot with nominees from the 29 other teams and be put to a vote of the PHWA’s general membership.

The annual award goes to the player judged to have displayed perseverance, dedication and sportsmanship. It is named for Winnipeg native Bill Masterton, who died as a result of injuries suffered in a game while playing for the Minnesota North Stars in 1968.

Pavelec, 27, has seen less playing time this season in an intense competition for ice time with rookie Michael Hutchinson. His season had not been without some dramatic ups and downs but his basic statistics have improved — a .916 save percentage and a 2.41 goals against average to date this season.

“Every year is different, every summer is different,” Pavelec said Friday. “You try to learn from the last season. When you don’t feel good, say, in November, you’ve got to try to change something to next year so you’re going to feel good in November. It’s always a process. It’s never going to be perfect.

“It’s just how you learn.”

Pavelec said the changes in his game and style are small items.

“It’s not a major change,” he said. “You can’t change all of your style. Most of the time it’s the little details. It’s always something. We always look at the last game, what I did well and what I did wrong. You try to improve yourself for the next practice.

“The game is about the little details, doesn’t matter if it’s the goalie, forward, defence. It’s a simple game for a goalie. You just have to stop the puck. The puck’s the same size.”

Pavelec, who also owns a gold and a silver from the world hockey championships, said he has learned to have perspective in recent years.

“I wasn’t like that a few years ago,” he said. “It’s just a game. It’s just a sport. It’s not the end of the world if you lose the game. I think it’s important to learn that. OK, you lose the game. You’re mad. You want to win. It’s always fun when you win the game. But really, there are more important things outside hockey. I think more terrible things happen to people than to lose the game. It’s not just about hockey.

“You come to the rink every single day all season, you have to have fun, you have to find a way to have fun. It’s not easy, especially when you lose a game, but when you lose a game, the next day’s a new day.”

Jets coach Paul Maurice said Friday Pavelec’s perseverance has been shown in recent weeks.

“I know it’s a short period of time but that was a real difficult thing for him to go through, giving up a goal like he did in St. Louis and being able to come back not just with a performance but with five straight where he was the best player on the ice,” Maurice said. “The mental toughness that it takes, I’m pleased for him.”

ADJUSTING GAME: Approaching the finish line, the Jets remain the NHL’s most short-handed team.

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Their lead in that category Friday was 297-287 over Columbus.

At mid-season, the Jets led this category by 14 over Pittsburgh. Near the three-quarter mark, things got a whole lot worse, 41 worse than next-worst Pittsburgh.

In the last 19 games, the Jets have reduced their excessive penalties and were short-handed 3.16 times per game in the latest stretch. That’s not far from normal. The league average this season is 3.08 short-handed times per game.

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca