by Joel Smart (Sports Editor)
Email: cascade.sports@ufv.ca
It’s not the first time this season that zippy Canucks left winger Mason Raymond has scored a lucky game winning goal, but after the Saturday night win against Toronto, it was clearly a relief to see a puck he shot find the back of the net.
On October 26, Raymond won the game against the Colorado Avalanche in overtime by poking the stick of Jonas Holos as he attempted to skate behind his own net. The puck squeaked through the legs of an unsuspecting Peter Budaj. Considering the Canucks’ performance in the shootout, the effort single-handedly gave the Canucks an extra point. The same could be said about the win in Toronto, when Raymond’s tipped shot seemingly defied the odds and slipped between the legs of Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
On the team, only linemate Ryan Kesler has more shots than Raymond, but of course, Kesler has several more goals. Raymond is admittedly frustrated with his lack of scoring early this season, but if his drive to succeed is any indicator, it won’t be long before pucks start to go in more consistently.
Raymond, who turned 25 in September, started skating on his family’s outdoor rink in Cochrane, Alberta, when he was only four years old with his dog, Champ, in net. Sixteen years later, he was drafted by the Canucks 51st overall in the 2005 NHL draft. The Canucks signed him to a contract just two games after he began playing for the Manitoba Moose in March of 2007. In his first NHL game, the 2007 opener against the San Jose Sharks, Raymond notched an assist, playing on the top line with the Sedins. Since then he’s spent much more time playing on a line with Ryan Kesler.
He looked like he would have a breakout year in his second season, scoring 10 points in his first 13 games, but in the 59 subsequent games he played, he only managed 13 more points. However, last year he more than doubled his scoring output from the previous outing, with 25 goals and 53 points overall. The success landed him a $5.1 million contract over two years.
Though he has struggled to score consistently in the NHL, Raymond is known for scoring goals. After being drafted in 2005, he joined the NCAA Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. There he came second in league scoring in the 2005-2006 season, just behind Jonathan Toews. Following the season, he was named most valuable player of the Bulldogs. In a brief stint with the Moose in late 2007, Raymond had a five-point game, with a hat trick and two assists. With friends and family watching, he scored his first NHL hat trick in a 5-1 win against the Calgary Flames. In September, his Junior A team, the Camrose Kodiaks, retired his jersey, number 9, in honour of his performances.
Being a crowd favourite has only increased his pressure to perform, which may be a leading culprit in his frustration to score in his fourth season. Only adding to the pressure is the new contract. However, expect him to find more success when his goal-scoring instincts kick back in, and he begins driving more into the net. He has begun to add a more physical element to his already lethal speed, and it seems like only a matter of time before that takes him to an even higher level than last season.
