Flyers forward Oskar Lindblom wins Masterton Trophy for cancer comeback
The Daily Goal Horn
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Two months after completing cancer treatment, left winger Oskar Lindblom was back on the ice for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The impressive comeback led to Lindblom being awarded the NHL’s Masterton Trophy on Tuesday. The honor is given annually to a player who best displays perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
In December 2019, Lindblom was diagnosed with a type of bone cancer, Ewing’s sarcoma. His treatments concluded in July 2020, Lindblom was back in action for the Flyers in Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinal last September. Philadelphia’s season ended with a Game 7 defeat to the New York Islanders.
In the just-concluded 2020-21 season, Lindblom registered eight goals and six assists in 50 games.
Oskar Lindblom wins Masterton Trophy
Lindblom said after winning the Masterton Trophy, “I would like to thank my family, my girlfriend. My whole team, the organization and especially the doctors and nurses that have been helping me on the way and everyone else that has been there for me the whole way. I just want to say a big thank you to all of you.”
He added of his health ordeal, “Just to get back from losing all the muscles when you start playing again and you feel like you’re not really there, it’s a tough time to get around, then it starts to hit you mentally as well and you feel tired all the time, so last season was a battle for me. But just to be able to get back on the ice again was so, so good. I can’t say more than that. Awesome feeling to be back on the ice again.”
The other Masterton finalists were San Jose Sharks forward Patrick Marleau and Minnesota Wild defenseman Matt Dumba.
Lindblom said, “I feel very honored and proud to win this award and to compete with these type of players like Matt Dumba and Patrick Marleau that have been great players and great people on and off the ice. That’s very special for me.”
The Professional Hockey Writers Association donates $2,500 each year to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund of Bloomington, Minn., in honor of that year’s winner.
Lindblom became the fourth Philadelphia player to receive the Masterton Trophy, joining Bobby Clarke (1972), Tim Kerr (1989) and Ian Laperriere (2011).
–Field Level Media