Myers named nominee for Bill Masterton Trophy

Winnipeg, MB - The Winnipeg Jets Hockey Club is proud to announce that defenceman Tyler Myers has been named by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) as the team's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, awarded annually by the National Hockey League to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

Myers, 28, was selected by the Winnipeg chapter of the PHWA for his outstanding 2017-18 campaign and for his ability to overcome some serious challenges in the past two seasons. Last season, Myers was limited to 11 games due to a variety of lower-body issues that required several surgeries. His family also dealt with serious adversity off the ice as his wife Michela had an emergency C-section in January 2017 and their son Tristan was born five weeks prematurely. Tristan stayed in the neonatal intensive care unit for several weeks as he battled through a pulmonary hemorrhage, a seizure and a stroke.
Thankfully, the health of both Myers boys has improved this year and that has corresponded with a strong season for Tyler on the ice as well. He has played in all 75 games for the Jets this season and he is on pace to finish with his highest assist and point totals since the 2009-10 season where he won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year. Myers is averaging more than 21 minutes per game and tied for first among Jets defencemen in goals (6) and trails only Dustin Byfuglien in points (34) and assists (28).

"When you consider what Myers went through both on and off the ice last season and how he's regrouped, he was a natural selection," said Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun, who is the chapter chair for the Winnipeg chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. "His journey epitomizes all of the personal qualities the award was meant to recognize: perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."
Myers, who was originally selected in the first round (12th overall) by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2008 NHL Draft, is playing in his fourth season for the Jets after his Feb. 11/15 trade from the Sabres.
The Masterton Trophy was first presented by the NHL Writers' Association in 1968 to commemorate the late William Masterton, a player for the Minnesota North Stars, who was originally from Winnipeg and exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
Masterton died on January 15, 1968 after sustaining an injury sustained during a hockey game.
Myers is one of 31 candidates around the NHL. The winner is selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season and will be unveiled at the NHL Awards ceremony in Las Vegas in June.
A grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, MN, in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.
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winnipegjets.com/tickets
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