PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — For the second season in a row, Oskar Lindblom was selected by the Professional Hockey Writers Association's Philadelphia chapter as the Flyers nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
The award is presented to a player every year for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport. Each team in the league nominates one player.
Lindblom was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare bone cancer, in December 2019, effectively ending his 2019-20 season.
Then the pandemic delayed that season for everyone. Lindblom, after recovering, was able to return for the Flyers' final two playoff games in the Toronto bubble.
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This season, Lindblom scored eight goals with six assists in 50 games, which included an opening night tally at Wells Fargo Center. The inspirational 24-year-old also does a lot of little things that haven’t shown up in the box score.
Last season, Lindblom was a finalist for the trophy, which was awarded to Cherry Hill native Bobby Ryan of the Ottawa Senators. Ryan had gone through alcohol rehab for several months before returning to the Senators.
This year’s finalists and winners will be announced at a future date.
Flyers' annual team awards
As is the case at the end of every regular season, the Flyers announced their team awards.
Sean Couturier won the Bobby Clarke Trophy for Most Valuable Player for the third season in a row, and he’s the first Flyer to do so since Eric Lindros in the '90s.
Ivan Provorov won the Barry Ashbee Trophy for Outstanding Defenseman. It’s the second season in a row he’s won this, and third overall. The award is named after the late former Flyers defenseman from the Broad Street Bullies days who died from leukemia in 1977. Like the Clarke trophy, the Ashbee trophy is chosen by a panel of sports writers and broadcasters.
Twenty-one year old Joel Farabee won the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy for Most Improved Player, chosen by his teammates. Farabee led the team this season with 20 goals in his second NHL season, two of which he scored in the finale. Lindbergh is the late, talented former Flyers goalie who died in a car crash in November 1985 at the age of 26.
James van Riemsdyk won the Yanick Dupre Class Guy Memorial Award, chosen by the PHWA Philadelphia chapter. Dupre played parts of three seasons with the Flyers in the '90s after being a third-round pick of theirs in 1991. He died of leukemia on Aug. 16, 1997, at the age of 24 after a 16-month battle.
Couturier also won the Gene Hart Memorial Award for the player who showed the most heart. The Philadelphia Flyers Fan Club votes for the winner. Hart was the longtime, beloved, Hall of Fame voice of the Flyers who broadcasted the magical moments of their glory days. Hart died in 1999.
Claude Giroux won the Toyota Cup for recording the most points based on the team’s point distribution for "Star of the Game."