Friday morning, the PHWA announced their list of 32 nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Ducks' nominee for 2024 is defenseman Urho Vaakanainen.
Friday morning, the PHWA announced their list of 32 nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. The Ducks' nominee for 2024 is defenseman Urho Vaakanainen.
Friday morning, the 32 nominees for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy were revealed by the PHWA. Each year, the award is given to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance and dedication to ice hockey.
Urho Vaakanainen (25) has been nominated for the Masterton from the Anaheim Ducks chapter of the PHWA.
Vaakanainen (18th overall in 2017) was drafted by the Boston Bruins, had a few quality development years between 2017-2020, and has been a target of the injury bug since.
In the five seasons before 2023-24, the 6-foot-2, 201-pound defenseman, Vaakanainen, appeared in only 187 games between the AHL and NHL. Missing significant time through his ages 20-24 seasons took a toll on his development.
Vaakanainen was traded to the Ducks on March 19, 2022, along with John Moore, a 2022 first-round pick (BOS 22nd overall-Nathan Gaucher), a 2023 second-round pick (BOS 60th overall-Damian Clara), and a 2024 second-round pick in exchange for Hampus Lindholm and Kodie Curran.
After finishing the 2021-22 season playing 14 games for the Ducks, he crashed into the boards in the 2022-23 preseason causing him to miss the first six weeks of the season. He played 23 games before being shut down in January and undergoing hip surgery in March of 2023.
Vaakanainen making the most of good health
“Staying healthy and getting to play is a big thing,” Vaakanainen told The Hockey News’ Derek Lee when discussing his 2023-24 campaign. “Just getting the reps and staying consistent. I feel like I’m getting better every day,”
To date in 2023-24, Vaakanainen has remained healthy and appeared in 65 of the team’s 76 games and is rounding into an effective depth defenseman.
After several bids for his first NHL goal were disallowed, he finally put one in the back of the net in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Dallas Stars on Jan. 25. He has a goal and 13 assists so far in the 2023-24 season.
Filling scoresheets isn’t the strongest aspect of Vaakanainen’s game. He has become a fixture of the Ducks lineup this season due to his mistake-free brand of hockey. He plays within himself with the puck on his stick and makes smart decisions with great frequency.
Defensively, Vaakanainen is selective when choosing when to pinch on the forecheck. He gaps well defending rushes, and forces puck carriers to poor angles or to get rid of pucks. He is consistently tight on his assignment in defensive zone coverage and wins position battles in front of the net. He gets his stick on passing attempts and seals along the wall with efficiency.
While not flashy, he gets to loose pucks dumped deep in the Ducks zone and moves them quickly up the wall to his forward outlets.
Meat and potatoes hockey is Vaakanainen’s trademark and how he makes impacts on a nightly basis.
Vaakanainen’s most consistent defensive partner in the 2023-24 season has been Radko Gudas (before his injury). In 491 minutes together, they rank sixth in the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes (minimum of 400 minutes) among defensive pairs.
The Vaakanainen-Gudas pair has been one of the biggest bright spots for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2023-24 season. Their dependability is their best asset and it will be worth monitoring if they will be reunited when Gudas returns from injury.
Vaakanainen will be an RFA at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.
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