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24 Sports Oakville Beaver SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 255) Fax 905-337-5567 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · SATURDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2008 Mason quickly building name for himself Oakville netminder discusses his new life in the NHL By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Steve Mason has never been one to stay in one place too long. From the time he first strapped on the goalie pads when he was nine, Mason quickly worked his way through the hockey ranks. It wasn't until he reached the Ontario Hockey League with the London Knights that he spent consecutive seasons at the same level. After spending three years in the OHL, Mason is seemingly making up for lost time. After spending just three games in the American Hockey League -- and coming off knee surgery in the spring -- Mason made the jump to the NHL with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In his first eight games, he went 5-2-1, recorded two shutouts and posted a 2.09 average and a .919 save percentage. That start earned Mason the NHL's rookie-of-the-month award for November. After returning from a west coast road trip, the 20-yearold Mason took some time to discuss his first month in the big leagues, where it appears he'll be staying for a while. Garbutt: How would you rate your performance in the first month, on a scale of 1 to 10? Mason: It's definitely been pretty good. Maybe an 8.5. It's been going well, but there's still a pretty big learning curve. Garbutt: What has been the biggest part of that learning curve? Mason: Just learning to be consistent through a tough schedule with all the travel and practicing every day, and staying focused. Garbutt: The west coast trip is always a good time to stick the rookies with the tab for dinner. Have you had that happen yet? Mason: No, they haven't got us yet. They've had it planned out for a while. It's going to be when we're in Vancouver in February so I'm not looking forward to that. Garbutt: Other than being told that you're being called up, the one thing a rookie wants to hear is to find a place to live. Have they told you that yet? Mason: Yeah, I got the message three days ago that the PHOTO COURTESY GREG BARTRAM / COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS Wearing Columbus Blue Jackets colours has appealed to Steve Mason. The 20-year-old local resident started his National Hockey League career last month by winning five of his first eight games and recording two shutouts. Going into tonight's (Saturday's) action, Mason owns a 7-4-1 record, 2.05 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. GM wants to make the move permanent. Garbutt: Where have you been living? Mason: The team has a corporate condo right across from the arena so there is a bunch of players living in the same condo. Garbutt: You've made your mark pretty quickly. You've already had your first appearance in Sports Illustrated (Nov. 24 in the Pop Culture Grid). Mason: Yeah, that was a different experience. They had a couple of weird questions. Garbutt: How did your mom take losing out to Stacey Keibler as woman of the year? Mason: I don't think she knows yet. Garbutt: The world juniors are coming up. Will you be watching? Mason: Absolutely. It's a great tournament. All the players are proud to be in that tournament, so I'll be keeping tabs on them and hoping they can win a fifth in a row. Garbutt: It's got a more honoured place than your puck from your first win, though. Mason: Yeah, the puck is still in my suitcase in some dark corner. Garbutt: Has there been any player you were nervous about facing? Mason: Any of the big name players -- Iginla, Kovalchuk, Ovechkin -- you try to pay a little more attention to them, but I can't say I was nervous. I was more excited to challenge myself against them. Garbutt: Rookies are usually a target for trash talk. Have you experienced any of that yet? Mason: Nothing yet. Maybe it's just because of the position. They don't really talk to the goalies. Garbutt: Maybe it's because you haven't played Dallas and Sean Avery yet. You're not dating any of his exes, are you? Mason: Who knows, there's probably a lot of them. Garbutt: You won rookie of the month. Who would get your vote for rookie of the year so far? Mason: For rookie of the year, I've got to vote for one of our guys here, Derrick Brassard. He's had a great start and he's a good guy off the ice, too. OAKVILLE BEAVER FILE PHOTO Steve loves his mom (Donna, pictured above), but he picked Stacey Keibler as woman of the year in a recent edition of Sports Illustrated's Pop Culture Grid. Garbutt: Where is your (world junior) gold medal? Mason: It's back home in Oakville collecting dust. It's cool to look at it every now and then, but I haven't seen it since the summer.