Evaluating Pittsburgh Penguins' NCAA Prospects Kris Letang [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTk3ODMzMDU0MzI3MTU0NTUw/usatsi_20489458.jpg] Kris Letang Awards season in the NHL keeps on rolling. The NHL dolled out its latest trio of award finalists on Tuesday, announcing that Pittsburgh's Kris Letang, Arizona's Clayton Keller, and Chicago's Alex Stalock are finalists for the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who "best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey." It's hard to argue against either player being worthy of this honor, frankly. Letang shocked the hockey world in November when it was announced he had suffered a stroke and would be out of the lineup indefinitely. Letang suffered a stroke back in 2014 as well, caused by a small hole in the wall of his heart. Despite such terrifying circumstances, Letang miraculously returned to action two weeks later, proceeding to finish with a whopping 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points in 64 games. Keller recovered from a horrific injury of his own in 2022-23, returning to action after suffering a broken leg near the end of the 2021-22 season to put together a career-best campaign. In 82 games, Keller racked up an impressive 37 goals and 49 assists for 86 points, showing tremendous determination to not only overcome his injury but return even better than before. Stalock also made a remarkable return to action after some health issues. After contracting COVID-19 in 2021, Stalock was diagnosed with myocarditis and was ruled out for the entire 2021-22 season. After missing that campaign and a good chunk of this one, Stalock returned to game action in December and finished with a .908 save percentage while playing in front of a Blackhawks team in the midst of a rebuild. Regardless of who takes home the hardware, each finalist should be commended nonetheless.
