Kings Goalie Pheonix Copley Nominated for Bill Masterton Trophy

It was announced earlier today that the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) has nominated LA Kings goalie Pheonix Copley fit the NHL's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The trophy is presented annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the game of hockey.
The PHWA's statement when announcing the nomination of Copley stated, "when Pheonix Copley was signed on July 13, 2022 by Los Angeles as a free agent, the move was thought to be a minor league goaltending depth add as Pheonix had only played two NHL games since the 2019-20 season. But with established starters Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen underachieving, the 31-year-old Copley was summoned to the big club and made his biggest save, that of the Kings season. He set a franchise record by becoming the fastest goaltender to reach the 20-win mark needing only 29 appearances and earned a one-year contract extension."
Upon hearing the announcement that he was nominated for the Masterton trophy, Copley said "it's a very big honor to have that nomination. There are a lot of great guys on the team, so for me to have that honor, I'm just super honored and super humbled."

Todd McLellan when asked about the Copley Nomination stated, "it's a great choice. Obviously his story is quite a story. He's written a lot of the chapters already, by coming into training camp and coming in and taking the net and providing the wins, but we don't want his book to be over yet. I think it's a great choice. The perseverance that he had to believe in himself and also to take advantage of the opportunity that was presented to him and not hand it back was pretty impressive.
The 31-year old North Pole, Alaska native is in his ninth professional season after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Michigan Tech University. Copley holds a 24-6-3 record this season with a 2.64 GAA and a .903 SV%.
The winner of the Masterton Trophy is selected by a poll among the 32 chapters of the PHWA at the end of the regular season. NHL writers first presented the trophy in 1968 to commemorate the late Bill Masterton, who played for the Minnesota North Stars and exhibited to a high degree the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. Masterton died on Jan. 15, 1968, as a result of head injuries suffered during a game.