Mason Raymond has the confidence to predict that the 30-plus goal plateau is attainable in his fourth pro season.
Photograph by: Jeff Vinnick, Getty Images
Mason Raymond has always dreamed big. There's no limit to large aspirations, even though being slight in stature as a midget hockey star in Alberta had many doubting that the speedy Vancouver Canucks winger would ever collect an NHL cheque. That group included Raymond.
He now has the money after avoiding arbitration and signing a two-year, $5.1 million US contract extension following a career-high 25 goals and 53 points. And he now has the confidence to predict that the 30-plus goal plateau is attainable in his fourth pro season.
Pretty good bravado from a guy who had to be convinced to give the AJHL a try in Camrose where the Kodiaks retired his No. 9 jersey on Sept. 10.
"I credit a lot of it to experience," said Raymond. "Each year, I learn more and believe in myself and who I can be out on the ice. And I just keep pushing forward to hopefully improve on the numbers. They're close to my chest, but I like to set goals. And I'll strive to reach them."
As main camp progresses and the preseason nears, one of the many questions is who will join Ryan Kesler and Raymond on the second line? Raymond has earned the right to be pencilled in, but lost in his solid season were bouts of inconsistency. He scored 17 goals in his first 39 games -- including his first career hat trick on Dec. 27 in Calgary -- and had goal droughts of 10 and 11 games. Two of his three postseason goals came in the Chicago playoff series and he had the winner in Game 1.
Raymond has to prove he's a legitimate top-six forward and not a one-year scoring wonder. Yet he was brave enough at times to barge into tough scoring areas, brave enough to try some trickery in the slot and not simply stick to a restrictive perimeter game.
And if it's true that to know where you're going that you have to know where you've been, then a trip in time for Raymond earlier this month to revisit his hockey roots was timely.
NHL expectation is enough of an animal to wrestle, but Raymond wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for midget hockey buddy Daniel Bertram convincing him to give the Kodiaks a try.
"That was arguably my most fun years in hockey," said Raymond, who had 144 points in two AJHL seasons before playing two years at the University of Minnesota-Duluth. "It was a big transition in my life and a place where I believed in myself again."
The memories came flooding back at his jersey retirement.
"It was a full day," said Raymond. "I visited a bunch of schools, signed autographs and then the jersey. Obviously, it's a huge honour."
It will mean more if Raymond and the Canucks can meet heightened Stanley Cup expectations. They became unglued during their second-round playoff series because they lost their composure and by they time they regained it, the damage had been done.
"We've got to sort that out," said Raymond. "This is a great window for us to do some great things and we have a great group of core guys. But we've got to go out and do the work."
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