To quote a poker mantra, you play the hand you’re dealt.
At the start of the NHL season, no one could have predicted where Cochranite Mason Raymond would end up, least of all himself.
After playing six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks and then thriving in the hockey pressure cooker that is the Toronto Maple Leafs for one season where he recorded 45 points (19 goals, 26 assists) in 82 games, he made a move home to the Calgary Flames.
It seemed like a match made it heaven.
It wasn’t.
Raymond recorded 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists) in 57 games for the Flames during the 2014-15 season, but the 30-year-old winger, who signed a three-year contract in 2014 worth $3.15 million per season, was put on waivers and then sent down to the Flames’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Stockton Heat.
The player – who has scored 246 points (111 goals and 135 assists) in 513 NHL games – was in town recently for the Sunset Ridge Great Chili Cook-Off on April 30. While there he signed autographs and posed for pictures with adoring fans, and showed no hint of resentment at his current situation.
“It’s obviously not where I wanted to be or where I hoped to be,” said Raymond of his playing situation. “But, that’s hockey. It’s part of the business and that’s life.
“I went down to (Stockton) for a few months and played some good hockey.”
And play well he did, picking up 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 15 games, distinguishing himself despite the Heat finishing sixth in the AHL’s Pacific Division with a record of 32-32-2-2, and missing the playoffs.
Despite the unpredicted bump in his pursuit of glory at the highest level, Raymond looks at the experience as one which can only make him stronger mentally going forward, and increase his drive to get back to the level where he feels he belongs.
“I still believe I’ve got a lot of years left in the NHL, and want to play there,” he said. “You come down to (Stockton) and do what you have to do.
“In the off-season, you regroup and prepare for next year.”
There’s been a lot of scuttlebutt going around about how Raymond has been treated by the Flames organization, but how does he himself feel his hometown club has treated him?
“Hockey is hockey, and business is business,” he said. “You go through certain situations and you deal with them. I feel like I’ve got a lot to prove.
“I want to play at a good level, move forward, and get ready for next year.”
There have been rumours Raymond may be looking for a trade in the off-season, but when confronted with the question, he was tight-lipped.
“I don’t know what’s going to come,” he admitted. “For myself, I’m not going to change much this year, than from any year since I’ve been a player. I’m just going to continue to train hard and prepare for anything.
“In the end, it’ll all take care of itself.”
