Mason Raymond Mason Evan Raymond ( born September 17 , 1985 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger currently playing for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . Born in Cochrane , Alberta , he played Junior A in the Alberta Junior Hockey League ( AJHL ) for two seasons , where he captured league and regional titles with the Camrose Kodiaks , while also being named league MVP in 2005 . He then joined the college ranks with the Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association ( WCHA ) for a two - year tenure there , as well . He earned WCHA All - Rookie honours in 2006 , WCHA First Team All - Star honours in 2007 , and was also named the Bulldogs ' most valuable player in 2007 . Raymond was drafted by the Canucks in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft in the second round , 51st overall . After spending parts of two seasons with their American Hockey League ( AHL ) affiliate , the Manitoba Moose , he joined the club full - time in 2007 – 08 . He is known as a fast - skating scorer . Playing career . Junior and college ( 2003 – 07 ) . After playing AAA midget with the Strathmore Bisons of the Foothills Bisons Hockey Association , Raymond began a two - year Junior A career with the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL in 2003 – 04 . He posted a team - high 27 goals and 62 points as a rookie , including six game winning goal s . Prior to the 2004 – 05 campaign , Raymond was recruited by the Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs of the WCHA . Having earned an athletic scholarship , he had the choice of playing one more season with Camrose or to make the jump to the college ranks . He consulted with Kodiaks head coach Boris Rybalka and was challenged to improve at the Junior A level before moving to Minnesota - Duluth . As a result , Raymond remained in Camrose , signing a letter of intent in November 2004 to join the Minnesota - Duluth the following year for the 2005 – 06 season . Several other National Collegiate Athletics Association ( NCAA ) schools had recruited Raymond as well , including the University of Denver , Western Michigan University and the University of Alaska - Fairbanks . He chose the Bulldogs because he knew with 11 seniors leaving their team the following season , he would have the biggest role with that club . Raymond went on to lead the AJHL in scoring with 41 goals and was named league MVP in 2004 – 05 . He added 20 points in 15 post - season games as the Kodiaks captured the Rogers Wireless Cup as league champions to advance to the 2005 Doyle Cup , where they were named Canadian Junior ' A ' Pacific champions . Having won at the regional level , the Kodiaks earned a berth in the national 2005 Royal Bank Cup , where they finished as runner - up to the tournament host Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League ( SJHL ) . Raymond led all players in tournament scoring with 10 points in five games . The Kodiaks later retired Raymond ' s number 9 prior to their season - opening game against the Okotoks Oilers on September 10 , 2010 . Raymond was selected in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks in the second round , 51st overall . He had the opportunity to opt into the previous year ' s draft , but chose not to . He was scouted by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis as a fast skater with the puck who needed to work on his strength . Following his draft , he joined the Minnesota - Duluth Bulldogs . Scoring 11 goals and 28 points over 40 games , he was named to the WCHA All - Rookie Team for the 2005 – 06 season . In his sophomore campaign , Raymond led the Bulldogs in scoring with 14 goals , 32 assists and 46 points . Raymond ' s points total was good for second in league scoring behind Jonathan Toews . He received WCHA Player of the Week honours twice and was awarded the Mike Seiler Award , as the Bulldogs ' Most Valuable Player . His college career ended after the Bulldogs were eliminated by the St . Cloud State Huskies in the second round of the WCHA playoffs . Vancouver Canucks ( 2007 – " present " ) . Raymond chose to forego his final two years of college eligibility to turn professional and signed an amateur tryout contract with the Canucks ' minor league affiliate , the Manitoba Moose of the AHL . He scored his first AHL goal in his debut with the Moose on March 23 , 2007 . The goal was the game winner against goaltender Stefan Liv with four minutes remaining in a 3 – 2 victory against the Grand Rapids Griffins . Following his second AHL game , the Canucks signed him to an NHL contract . He completed his 11 - game regular season in the AHL with two goals and two assists . In the subsequent 2007 playoffs , he added an assist in 13 games , as the Moose were eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the second round . The following season , Raymond made the Canucks ' roster out of training camp and made his NHL debut on the team ' s top line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin . He picked up his first NHL point , an assist , in the season - opener against the San Jose Sharks on October 5 , 2007 . Soon thereafter , he was sent down to the Moose for a brief two - day assignment after having been a healthy scratch . He returned to the Canucks on October 18 , 2007 , and was later returned to the Moose at the end of the month for a longer assignment . Succeeding at the AHL level , Raymond recorded a five - point game with a hat trick and two assists during a match against the Rochester Americans on November 21 , 2007 . The Canucks recalled him the following month on December 11 following injuries to forwards Brendan Morrison and Brad Isbister . The next day , he scored his first NHL goal in his first game back against goaltender Jean - Sébastien Giguère of the Anaheim Ducks . The goal came assisted on a one - timer pass from Moose teammate Jason Jaffray who had been called up from Manitoba the same day as Raymond . Later that game , he also assisted Jaffray ' s first NHL goal in the third period . The Canucks went on to win the game 3 – 2 . Known for his skating ability , Raymond won the fastest skater segment of the Canucks ' 2008 SuperSkills Competition with a time of 14 . 283 seconds . A week later , he was re - assigned to the Moose one last time on January 13 , 2008 , for three days , before remaining with the Canucks . On March 17 , 2008 , he suffered an injury after a knee - on - knee collision with defenceman Keith Ballard in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes , sidelining him for the final eight games of the season . He finished his rookie NHL campaign with 21 points in 49 games with the Canucks , while also recording seven goals and 17 points in 20 games with the Moose . Raymond had a quick start to his second season in 2008 – 09 , scoring 10 points in his first 13 games , but trailed off to add just 13 points for the remainder of the campaign . Midway through the season , he was named to the 2009 YoungStars Game in Montreal , helping the sophomores beat the rookie team 9 – 5 . He finished his second NHL season with 11 goals and 12 assists in 72 games . In the ensuing 2009 playoffs , where the Canucks entered as the third seed in the Western Conference , Raymond scored his first NHL post - season goal in game three of the second round against the Chicago Blackhawks , a 3 – 1 win for the Canucks . Vancouver went on to be eliminated by the Blackhawks in six games . Raymond finished with two goals and an assist in 10 post - season contests . Midway through the 2009 – 10 season , Raymond recorded his first NHL hat trick with the game ' s final three goals in a 5 – 1 win against the Calgary Flames on December 27 , 2009 . Raymond enjoyed a breakout campaign in his third NHL season , playing regularly on the Canucks ' second line with centre Ryan Kesler and newly - acquired winger Mikael Samuelsson . He finished with a career - high 25 goals , 28 assists and 53 points . Prior to the final game of the regular season , he was voted by the Canucks ' booster club to receive the Fred J . Hume Award as the team ' s " unsung hero " . The Canucks entered the 2010 playoffs as the third seed for the second consecutive year . Raymond contributed three goals and an assist over 12 post - season games as Vancouver was eliminated once again in the second round by the Blackhawks . Becoming a restricted free agent on July 1 , 2010 , Raymond filed for salary arbitration after initially failing to come to terms with the Canucks . However , the two sides later agreed to a two - year , $ 5 . 1 million contract on July 26 , 2010 , before their arbitration hearing scheduled for the same day . The deal pays Raymond $ 2 . 5 million in the first year and $ 2 . 6 million in the second – a raise from his $ 760 , 000 salary from the previous season . It was reported the Canucks had proposed an annual $ 2 . 3 million salary , while Raymond had wanted $ 3 . 6 million . Several months into the 2010 – 11 season , he suffered a broken thumb and missed 10 games in December 2010 . Raymond struggled in the first year of his new contract and he was often demoted off of the second line . As a result , he finished with diminished season totals of 15 goals , 24 assists and 39 points over 70 games . On a team basis , the Canucks won their first - ever Presidents ' Trophy , having accomplished the best regular season record in the NHL that year . Entering the 2011 playoffs as the first seed in the West , they eliminated the Chicago Blackhawks , Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks in the first three rounds to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in 17 years . During his first shift of Game 6 against the Boston Bruins , Raymond suffered a fractured vertebrae after getting hit by opposing defenceman Johnny Boychuk . With Raymond ' s body twisted to try and retrieve a loose puck , he was engaged by Boychuk who proceeded to hit him into the boards after the puck had gone by . Bent over at the time of the hit , Raymond collided with the boards tailbone - first . He was taken to the hospital after initially being helped off the ice . Raymond later described the injury as " the most pain [ he ' s ] been in ever . " No penalty was called on the play nor did Boychuk receive any discipline from the league following the game , which drew public criticism from Canucks general manager Mike Gillis . Vancouver went on to lose Games 6 and 7 as Boston won the Stanley Cup . Raymond made an appearance in Rogers Arena prior to the final game of the series . Wearing a plastic corset to support his back , he waved to the crowd who gave him a standing ovation . While the injury did not require surgery , Raymond retained the back brace for six weeks . In late - July , he received a text message from Boychuk explaining that his intention was not to injure with the hit . Unable to train on the ice or with weights , Raymond spent the 2011 off - season largely inactive , with the exception of cardiovascular workouts . International play . Following his 2010 playoff run with the Canucks , Raymond was added to Team Canada ' s roster for the 2010 IIHF World Championship in Germany , his first international tournament . Joining the team midway through the tournament during the qualification round , he recorded his lone point of the tournament , an assist , on a goal by Matt Duchene during a 3 – 2 loss to the Czech Republic . The following game , Canada was eliminated in the quarterfinal by Russia , losing the game 5 – 2 . Personal life . Raymond was born in Cochrane , Alberta , a town west of Calgary , to parents Carol and Terry Raymond . He began skating when he was four on his family ' s backyard rink . Growing up , he was a Calgary Flames fan . He left home as a teenager for the 2003 – 04 season to play Junior A with the Camrose Kodiaks in Camrose , Alberta .