Flyers announce Garrett Wilson as the team’s Masterton Trophy nominee

On April 16, 2019, Garrett Wilson skated in a playoff game for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

He didn’t know it would be his last in the NHL for seven years. But 2,529 days later, he suited up for the Flyers against the Los Angeles Kings on March 19 in a pivotal game as the team was clawing its way back into the playoff race. Two nights later, he was dropping the gloves against noted enforcer Ryan Reaves, who now plays for the San Jose Sharks.

Wilson’s perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey, while grinding away in the American Hockey League and everything in between, is why the grizzled forward has been selected as Philadelphia’s contender for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, an annual nod to the player who best exemplifies those qualities.

All 32 Professional Hockey Writers Association chapters select a nominee, and members vote. After three finalists are named, the winner will be announced in June.

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“It was cool,” Wilson told The Inquirer after finding out he was the selection. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. Just talking about being down in the AHL for so long and just grinding back, just work ethic, staying positive, being a good teammate, and now I’m getting rewarded for it. So, it’s been fun here [in Philly], especially this time of year. It’s just an honor to be nominated.”

Wilson, who was on an AHL deal and is the captain of the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, wasn’t expecting to get any news around the NHL trade deadline on March 6. But on the eve of the cut-off point, Wilson was in the locker room in Allentown and didn’t have his phone with him.

The trainer came in and told him to check his phone. He was a little nervous, but when he did, he got the good news: the Flyers were signing the hulking 6-foot-3, 218-pound winger to a two-way deal for the remainder of the season. The contract included an AHL deal for next season.

“The writing is kind of on the wall with what kind of contract you sign. You never want to say your window’s fully closed. You always got to believe and come to work every day with a positive attitude, work hard, and hope to one day get back there,” said Wilson, who was absolutely shocked at the time but also appreciated the early birthday present as he turned 35 on March 16.

“I just kind of try to stay positive, keep my head up, work hard, and sometimes when you’re a good teammate and do all the little things, you get rewarded for it.”

Selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft by the Florida Panthers, Wilson has two goals, eight points, and 47 penalty minutes across 86 career regular-season games, and a goal and an assist in 10 playoff games at the NHL level.

One of 12 players on the Flyers who have played in a playoff game, his veteran presence will be helpful as the organization pushes for its first playoff appearance since 2020.

“I coached him for four years, and he was a huge help for me, because he’s an older guy, obviously, and when you coach, especially my first couple years, you need a veteran that can help you push the message with you,” former Phantoms coach Ian Laperrière told The Inquirer.

“And Wilson’s great. On and off the ice, he did everything I asked him to do, and even more — like off the ice, he took care of those young guys. It was more like a mentor, big brother kind of role with me.”

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Wilson, who has been with the Phantoms since the 2020-21 season, has 16 points and a team-leading 101 penalty minutes in 54 games this season. He has played 754 AHL games for San Antonio, Portland, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Toronto, and Lehigh Valley. He is Lehigh Valley’s all-time leader in games played (341) and ranks fourth in goals (62) and points (148).

And while he’s not with Lehigh Valley right now, he’s still mentoring the youngsters who were with him in the minors that are with the big club now, like Alex Bump and Denver Barkey. He’s also helping them work through the ups and downs.

“Like some of those guys getting taken out of the lineup, for a number of reasons, and just trying to tell them, stay positive, and they’ll get their chance again. Just to keep working and don’t get too down on themselves,” he said. “ … They’re great kids, and it’s easy to teach them the right things when they’re picking it up.”

“There’s a reason why, five, six years with the organization, being with the young guys down there. He’s the captain down there; you can tell he’s a captain,” said Flyers coach Rick Tocchet, who worked with Wilson for a bit in Pittsburgh.

“But, like, he played 10, 11 minutes in L.A., and he deserved the minutes. He comes after the game, and he goes, ‘I didn’t think I was going to play that much.’ And I was saying, ‘Why?’ He did the right things, and then obviously fighting a tough guy like Reaves off the start [in San Jose], I think that really helped our team, to be honest with you.”

The Flyers have won the Masterton four times — Bobby Clarke in 1972, Tim Kerr in 1989, Laperrière in 2011, and Oskar Lindblom in 2021. And like his former coach, Wilson checks the boxes for perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication.

“I think we have something in common, why I got nominated, and he’s getting nominated, because of love of the game. We both have love of the game,” Laperrière said. “He still loves the game, loves to show up at the game and practice and that grind, especially in the American [Hockey] League.

“ … And that’s why the description of that trophy, it usually goes to guys that go through adversity, but all those guys have one thing in common: They love the game, and they’re passionate about the game, and he’s got the qualities to be nominated for that.”