Former Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Kevin Masters was one of those players who might have slipped under the radar from time-to-time but in hindsight proved incredibly valuable to the team’s success.
Night in and night out during his four seasons with the Warriors, you knew Masters would be in the line-up, you knew he’d provide a solid presence on the blueline and you knew he’d find a way to chip in with points and help the team win.
That kind of career in the Western Hockey League can attract some attention, and for Masters, it all resulted in his induction into the Warriors and Legends Hall of Fame this past Thursday night at the Moose Jaw Events Centre.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Masters said of his reaction to receiving the news from former captain Derek Kletzel that he had been chosen for the honour. “You don’t see it coming at all and you look at players who have come through and have won it and you don’t see yourself in that category. So when Derek phoned in December, I think I probably checked the calendar to make sure it wasn’t April 1st, and when I confirmed it wasn’t it kind of sunk in a bit.”
While Masters himself was a bit taken aback to find himself included alongside the likes of Theoren Fleury, Ryan Smyth and Mike Keane with such a high team honour, hi selection was for a very good reason.
Masters is the sixth-highest scoring defenceman in team history, putting up 38 goals and 146 points over 246 games and just as impressively missing only two games in three full WHL seasons with Moose Jaw from 1988 through 1992 -- a tribute to his incredible physical fitness in a time when that wasn’t as much of a focus for players.
“I think a lot of guys find (the selection) surreal, and you think you’re lucky but it doesn’t seem quite right knowing the guys who have won it in the past,” Masters said. “So with that in mind you have to take a moment and self-reflect and look at your career and realize maybe you had a good career and give yourself a bit of the pat you deserve.”
Former coaches and teammates made sure to give Masters his just due during the video tribute, which featured the likes of former teammate and billet Devon Oleniuk, former coach Lorne Molleken, teammates Kletzel and Travis Thiessen and a special message from son Kyle Masters, a member of the Kamloops Blazers.
Once his time with the Warriors came to an end, Masters put his WHL scholarship program funds to good use, attending the University of Calgary and graduating with a degree in Kiniseiology while playing for the Dinos in the then-CIAU.
“You can’t put a price on it,” Masters said of the scholarship program. “You might not be putting as much time into your summer jobs as you did in junior, they train harder and prepare more for the year to come, so they don’t spend as much time on summer work.
So when you leave that junior career, it could be all-of-a-sudden ‘oh, oh, what do I do now?’ and I’ve seen guys start to worry. To be able to leave junior, have money, and be a little bit wanted because I played in the WHL, I was able to get an education.”
Masters and wife Kathryn have spent plenty of time in rinks since his playing days ended, following the burgeoning hockey careers of Kyle with the Blazers and Lukas with OHA Edmonton.
Seeing Kyle follow in his footsteps in the WHL and even exceed his father by being drafted in the fourth round of the NHL Draft by Minnesota in 2021 has been an added thrill for Kevin.
“He’s much better than I am and driven like I’ve never seen, kind of like they all are nowadays,” Kevin said of Kyle, who has developed into a point-a-game defenceman since his off-season trade from Red Deer to Kamloops. “I hope I don’t meddle too much, you picture that stereotypical parent, and hopefully I’ve provided some help…He’s doing well, he’s very lucky to be in Kamloops now, and when he left Red Deer, Moose Jaw was also on the list and it was ‘I hope they’re kind of interested’. It didn’t work out with Moose Jaw, but now he gets to play in a Memorial Cup, he plays with a smile and he loves the game.”
Kevin does have one advantage over Kyle, though -- unless the younger Masters returns to the WHL as a 20-year-old and has another great season, his dad will have more points in his WHL career.
“Hey, I was lucky to be able to play steady, play four years, and when you get to do that, the points will add up and you look okay in the end,” Kevin said with a grin.
The bronze plaques for Masters and fellow inductee Paul Dyck will soon be installed on the north wall of the Moose Jaw Events Centre concourse, joining the aforementioned luminaries already enshrined.
“I picture that as guys that everybody talks about, so in that regard, it’s kind of cool,” Masters said. “I’ll probably have to get back here for a game and see it up and then maybe it’ll be ‘wow, it’s real’. But ultimately it’s very special and it’s something I’ll absorb over time.”
