Cory Schneider selected as the Devils Bill Masterton Trophy Nominee

New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider has been nominated as this year's Devils nomination for the Bill Masterton Award, as selected by the members of the New Jersey chapter of the PHWA consisting of Chris Ryan of NJ Advance Media, Abbey Mastracco of The Record, Corey Masisak of The Athletic and Mike Morreale of NHL.com. The award will be handed out this June in Las Vegas at the NHL Awards.

The Bill Masterton Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.
Tweet from @NJDevils: ���I was more excited for our team to come back and win a tough game after a tough trip.��������� Hynes: https://t.co/lYfZB8e9Fn pic.twitter.com/kADCHxVnz6
The date was February 15th, 2019.
The score was 4-1 in favor of Minnesota over New Jersey. It was the 7:19 mark of the second period.
Devils head coach John Hynes decides to pull his goaltender and replace him with Cory Schneider.
Schneider would save all 15 shots faced.
The Devils win 5-4 in overtime.
Schneider is the winning goaltender.
Tweet from @NJDevils: "Thanks guys, sorry that took so long." 🤣 #NJDvsMIN pic.twitter.com/pxRSgGWIFe
This was no ordinary victory. Emphatic cheers resonated through the Devils locker room, perhaps a little louder than usual. There was a sense of relief that you could feel as you entered the room. Media members swarmed Schneider.
He had just won his first regular season NHL game in more than 14 months.
"For anybody who knows me, I'm not overly emotional one way or another," Schneider said. "I think everyone else was more excited about it than I was. For me, it's obvious relief, but, you know, it's my job, it's what I'm supposed to do. I wish it happened a lot more recently, but it's good to get it."
Two days later, on home ice, Schneider would win a second consecutive game. This time his first win as a starting goaltender, for the first time since December 27, 2017. Since then, Schneider has gone 5-5-1 with a .930 save percentage.
It took 418 days of hard work, focus, and dedication for the 33-year-old goaltender. Schneider's confidence never wavered, and if it did, he never showed it publicly. The road wasn't an easy one. It was filled with an array of obstacles which Schneider and Devils goaltending coach Roland Melanson would have to tackle.
On two occasions during the 2018-19 NHL season, Schneider spent time with the Devils AHL affiliate in Binghamton in an effort to rehab from off-season hip surgery and a non-related lower-body injury.
"It hasn't been the easiest, career-wise," Schneider said at the time. "I'm trying to just rebuild my game here and get back on track."
That focus to remain on track and rebuild his game as a veteran netminder in the NHL all happened while the Devils organization watched the emergence of rookie goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood splashed onto the scene with a 5-2-0 record in his seven career starts.
Schneider remained steadfast and despite going through his own personal struggles, was there to support a young goaltender. Schneider took it upon himself to make sure that Blackwood was comfortable in the Devils locker room and adjusting to the NHL life in the unique goaltending position. It didn't go unnoticed by the 22-year-old rookie.
"He's been around for a long time," Blackwood said. "He's just so smart when it comes to this game. I'm very fortunate to have him teach me and help me along the way. I just watch him and learn from him and take parts of his game. I get to pick his brain."
It was something Schneider told NewJerseyDevils.com was important, as he could remember a time when he was a young rookie in Vancouver and worked under the guidance of Roberto Luongo. It was important for Schneider to return that favor and pass the experience along to another goaltender.
"I had really good role models in Roberto Luongo] and Martin [Brodeur]," Schneider said on February 25th. "Obviously I want to help [Mackenzie] and have him grow and learn from me. The younger/older relationship and fighting each other for the net can really be beneficial for everybody."
All this, while trying to recapture the success he's had in years past. On most nights, when things were not going his way leading up to that first victory, Schneider would shoulder the blame for the loses.
"It hasn't been the best of times going on here the last few months for me," Schneider said after a loss earlier this season. "But at the end of the day, again, it's up to me and it's my job to get back on track and get back to being the player I was."
Slowly but surely, Schneider's game would look more familiar. The stops of the puck you'd expect the 2016 NHL All-Star to make, were being stopped. His confidence began to grow, and his teammates took notice.
"At the beginning of the year, you could tell there was a bit of a difference, some holes or whatever it was," Devils captain Andy Greene said in February. "But lately he has looked really comfortable and confident out there. He looks like his old self."
With ample grace, Schneider faced the media on a constant basis and never shied away from answering the tough questions about his performances that weren't up to his standards. He knew he had to be better for his teammates and his hockey club. He owned up to it on multiple occasions.
"It's tough when your goalie gives away the game in the first period," Schneider said to reporters after a 5-2 loss to Tampa Bay in late November. "It's not fair to my teammates […] It's just disappointing for me. I've been working on the exact things that they scored some of their goals on. I have to figure that out and give my team a chance."
[Tweet from @NJDevils: Cory Schneider appreciation tweet. pic.twitter.com/6BaO7deTO7
While he may have faced doubt that he could regain his game from the outside, those questions never lingered within the organization.
"The doubt wasn't coming from inside this room," Kyle Palmieri said after the Devils win in Minnesota. "We've always believed in him. We've seen how hard he's worked. Even the guys down in Binghamton… He goes down there and it's tough. But he's worked his way through it. And honestly, the last time he came back from Binghamton, he was a different player. He looks so sound in net in practice and I think his confidence just kept growing. He hadn't gotten the results he's necessarily wanted but he deserves every bit of it tonight. He shut the door and it was nice as a team to rally around him find a way to win the game."
Tweet from @NJDevils: Cory Schneider is tonight���s 1st ������ of the game, saving 45 of 46 shots on goal. #BUFvsNJD pic.twitter.com/Cy9AqQWLYf
After that victory in Minnesota, the questions around Schneider's performances became less constant. Finally, it was his play doing all the talking.
And it hit a crescendo on March 25th.
Schneider made 46 saves on 47 shots against the Buffalo Sabres in a 2-1 win. Chants of "Cory! Cory!" flooded the Prudential Center from fans in their seats. Schneider was named the game's First Star, and he was awarded "The Helmet" by his teammates, given to the 'Player of the Game' inside the Devils locker room after a win.
And then his coach uttered a phrase many have been used to hearing over the course of Schneider's career.
"Cory Schneider was the difference in this game."
It has certainly been a long journey to get to this point for Cory, but he now rides alongside Mackenzie Blackwood as they alternate games to close out the regular season, continuing to do, without question what Schneider has hoped for all along. Schneider is the ultimate lesson in facing adversity, something that can only make a person and athlete stronger in the end. And as one of the leaders on this current Devils squad, that has seen nine rookies make their NHL de-buts this year, the story of Cory Schneider's 2018-19 season is a lesson in perseverance for us all.
Take it from Blackwood: "It's pretty cool to learn from a guy like him."
Tweet from @NJDevils: "It's nice to win no matter how you do it." pic.twitter.com/qdF7ZujMzh