Alex Killorn nominated for Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

From having a career year on the ice to becoming one of the Tampa Bay area's top influencers off it, Lightning forward Alex Killorn has certainly seen his profile grow during the 2019-20 season.

On Tuesday, Killorn received yet another accolade in a season filled with them.

The Tampa Bay chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association selected Killorn as their nominee for the 2020 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy awarded annually by the association and given to "the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey."

A nominee from each of the 31 NHL teams was selected in a poll of all chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. The nominees will be whittled down to three finalists and a winner will be named at a later date.

Killorn had the finest season of his NHL career in 2019-20 despite the Lightning playing a shortened 70-game regular season due to the coronavirus. Killorn netted a personal best 26 goals - far outpacing his previous high of 19 goals from the 2016-17 season - and 49 points while also setting career highs for power-play goals (8), power-play points (13) and game-winning goals (7). Killorn finished the regular season shooting at a 20 percent clip, pacing the NHL.

Additionally, Killorn was routinely lauded by teammates and coaches alike for the increased leadership role he took this season on the Lightning, a team that finished the regular season tied for third in the overall NHL standings and second in the Eastern Conference (by points percentage). Tampa Bay qualified for the playoffs for the third-consecutive season and sixth time in the last seven seasons.

Killorn became a leader in the Tampa Bay community off the ice this season too. He joined forces with teammate Ryan McDonagh in February to host the inaugural "Jam Kancer in the Kan" Kan Jam tournament at Sparkman Wharf, which raised over $102,000 for the Adolescent and Young Adult program at Tampa's Moffitt Cancer Center.

Killorn serves as the Lightning's NHLPA representative and has guided his teammates through the NHL pause and the League's Return to Play plan.

During the pause, he's become one of the area's top influencers with his "Dock Talk with Killer" Instagram series where he rides his jet ski around Tampa Bay's waters and pulls up to the docks of teammates or professional athletes from other area sports teams, interviewing players and answering questions sent in by fans. Killorn's "The Bolts are Back" video on his YouTube channel accumulated over one million views in less than 24 hours after posting. Killorn also created a "Dock Talk with Killer' tie-dye t-shirt that has raised nearly $50,000 with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the Hillsborough Education Fund.

Killorn could become the second Lightning player in franchise history to win the Masterton Memorial Trophy. John Cullen was the recipient for the 1998-99 season after beating cancer. During the summer of 1997, Cullen was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, forcing him to miss the entire 1997-98 season. He returned and played four games in 1998-99 before deciding to retire and become an assistant coach with the Lightning, a role he served for two seasons.

Killorn was nominated for the Masterton Memorial Trophy for the first time in his career. Ryan Callahan was Tampa Bay's 2019 nominee.