Zach Hyman
The Toronto Maple Leafs lost to the Boston Bruins in the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. And that wasn’t the only loss they encountered to end last season.
Zach Hyman was injured in Game 4 of that series. However, in typical Hyman fashion, he played on and completed the round. It was later announced that he had suffered a torn ACL and would require surgery.
Upon his return to action, after nearly seven months away from the game, he didn’t exactly ease into play. Hyman had over 17:30 of ice time in his first game back, on November 13, 2019. In fact, this past year saw his highest average ice time thus far throughout his career at 19:06 per game.
| Scor | Scor | Scor | Goal | Goal | Goal | Goal | Assi | Assi | Assi | Shot | Ice | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Tm | GP | G | A | PTS | +/- | PIM | EV | PP | SH | GW | EV | PP | SH | S% | ATOI | BLK | HIT | TK |
| 15-16 | TOR | 16 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.8 | 15:41 | 8 | 31 | 9 |
| 16-17 | TOR | 82 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 2 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 | 16:42 | 43 | 109 | 42 |
| 17-18 | TOR | 82 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 22 | 37 | 14 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 1 | 10.1 | 17:21 | 55 | 117 | 36 |
| 18-19 | TOR | 71 | 21 | 20 | 41 | 16 | 65 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 14.6 | 17:17 | 39 | 102 | 30 |
| 19-20 | TOR | 51 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 13 | 23 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 19.8 | 19:06 | 23 | 52 | 32 |
Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Beyond effectively filling the role he’s become known for, in being the first into the less desirable areas of the rink to help his team however he can, he was also on pace for his most productive year to date.
Hyman continues to prove that passion leads his game. He knows he’s not expected to make the pretty plays, yet he gets involved throughout every inch of the ice and whoever he plays alongside elevates their game as a direct result.
It’s no longer a coincidence when it’s continual.
HUSTLE. HEART. HYMAN.#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/oCtQ2gakyi
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) February 24, 2019
Being nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy makes perfect sense, after such a successful comeback and showing he’s still pushing to progress his game.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a better team with Zach Hyman there. It’s something special that he helps superstars reach their next level and he continues to progress his own productivity all the while.