With new hat, Mason sets about settling in Thrashers goal
The first thing Chris Mason did after signing with the Thrashers as a free agent was buy a piece of team merchandise.
A new hat was in order. The goaltender immediately put the lid on his shaved head after an on-ice workout last week with some of his new teammates at the Thrashers practice facility.
“You have to change your allegiance,” said Mason, who spent the past two seasons with St. Louis after stints with Nashville and Florida. The 34-year-old signed a two-year contract as an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Mason took up temporary housing upon arriving in town early last season, eager to get to work and get to know his new teammates. Mason, who dresses in the stall once occupied by Johan Hedberg, is one of several key off-season acquisitions by the Thrashers.
“I think it takes a little time,” Mason said of getting acclimated to a new locker room. “There are a lot of us in the same situation. Basically, you have to come in and be yourself. Hockey guys are such good guys and it’s easy. Everybody so far as been great and welcoming and it’s easy to pretty easy to walk in. Everyone makes you feel so comfortable that it’s not to difficult. With a lot of us being on the same path it will be easy and guys will click and get to know each other.”
Mason said he is looking forward to getting the season started. The sooner it starts, the sooner he and teammates can set about changing the fortunes of a franchise that has made the playoffs once in its history and has yet to win a postseason game.
“I think for everybody it’s a challenge,” Mason said. “You want to break that ground. You want to establish a team that’s taken seriously. Last year, I think they made good strides. They were in the playoff hunt until the last little bit. That’s really important. It’s a challenge. I think everybody has to take it personal to get this team where it wants to be – get into the playoffs and win. For me, personally, you take it as a challenge to help this team move forward and make the playoffs.”
Along with new teammates, Mason will be getting to know a new coaching staff. He is already quite familiar with one – goaltending consultant Clint Malarchuk. Mason played for the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage while in the Panthers system and Malarchuk was the goaltender coach. Mason welcomes the reunion – and the extra set of eyes.
“If you have a goalie coach, it’s another set of eyes that specializes in that position,” Mason said. “When they know your game, they can see when you are off a little bit – just little things that they can see that you may not notice when you are out there playing. He’s kind of the eye in the sky. We usually watch video together and go over games. It’s good to have another set of eyes and ears. I know Clint and he’s such a good guy and he can relate to the ups and downs that goalies go through. I’m really excited that he’s here.”
Mason and Ondrej Pavelec will be the Thrashers goaltending tandem next season. Once training camp starts next month the other four goalies under contract will be on the ice.
“I’ve already talked to Pavs quite a bit,” Mason said. “I’m looking forward to playing with him. He’s a really nice guy. I just enjoy being friends with all the guys. I love talking to goalies, young and old. I love the position. I love watching guys. I’m just going to be myself and get to know the guys. By all means, if they have anything they want to ask me. I’ll be asking them questions because I love to learn. There are always new techniques that guys are bringing into the game. I want to have good relationships with all of them.”
* I’m planning to be at IceForum on Thursday to catch up with some other players that have reported for voluntary workouts. I’ll see if there is any news and we’ll gather some more blog fodder. I don’t think any of the former Blackhawks are there yet, but let me know if there is anyone in particular you would like to hear from.
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88 comments Add your comment
Troll
August 25th, 2010
12:49 pm
Today I achieved unprecedented levels of unverifiable productivity.
Sage of Bluesland
August 25th, 2010
1:00 pm
Darn, I missed what caused the ‘usual suspects’ (i.e. sheep) to get in an uproar and really circle those wagons!
But, Flames, I think you’re way off base on a couple of comments. First off, the resurgence of the Blackhawks was noticed more than “just” last year, for heaven’s sake.
Secondly, you give the impression that success in our division is predicated on an “order”–as in TB did it, then Carolina….thus it ‘must’ be our turn.
Nope–if it only worked that way…Unfortunately, the seeds of any success–in anything in life–resides in the quality of decisions made. Simple. End-of.
Alas, with Don Waddell at the helm of this organization, we will fail. Period.
Spin it or sheepshine it all you want, but the truth of the matter is this…and coupled with the pitiful owners we have…well, let’s just say it never ceases to amaze me that there are any ‘fans’ of this team at all…
(Thankfully, more and more are making their economic vote count–and not throwing their money away to these buffoons…)
Zombie Steve
August 25th, 2010
1:03 pm
Ah yes…. the daily dose of Sage….
Jack
August 25th, 2010
1:08 pm
I thought Chris removed the Troll, if he did how did Sage get in?
SomaAtl95
August 25th, 2010
1:23 pm
Sage has a valid, yet over repeated, gripe with the Thrashers. The troll that was in here was being a prick because that was his prerogative. I’d rather listen to Sage today than someone who couldn’t even claim an allegiance to any team and spout feces out of his pie-hole. Trolls like that guy make Sage look like “Mr. Congeniality”…
Thanks C-Viv for blocking that guy – he was obnoxious!
Flames
August 25th, 2010
1:24 pm
Sage-You will not get me down nor will the troll. I really truly believe that this is going to be a special year for the Thrashers. I’m not saying that we will hold Lord Stanley Cup. I’m saying that this team will make the playoffs and represent this city well. For god sake this city has won only one Championship in it’s history. (Braves) I was simple stating that teams that haven’t been around along time such as Tampa Bay, Carolina, Florida can and have won championships. You don’t have to be from the original six to have a chance. The Blackhawks starting building their team in 2007. It wasn’t like they had a dynasty in place. They won 40 games in 2007 and built on that. You know the rest of the story.
We are heading in the right direction…..
JK
August 25th, 2010
1:24 pm
Hockey is a great sport to watch live but the amount of money that I have spent over the last decade on tickets should have some type of return. Until this organization proves that it can put a winning team on the ice I’m done. My money will be spent elsewhere. If the team has to relocate so be it. Enough is enough!
Jack
August 25th, 2010
1:30 pm
Amen Flames
Jack
August 25th, 2010
1:34 pm
Flames regarding your comment on ” For god sake this city has won only one Championship in it’s history. (Braves)”
The Knights won the Turner Cup Championship.
SomaAtl95
August 25th, 2010
1:35 pm
I second that “Amen” to you Flames, and JK thanks for your respectful disagreement. Nice to have someone say a gripe without insulting everyone in the room.
Hockey Biltong
August 25th, 2010
1:48 pm
Everybody relax! It’s great to see the fire in y’all, just remember to bring it to the rink, right Sage!?!?!?!
Flames
August 25th, 2010
1:49 pm
Jack- Sorry my mistake..You are right….Sage-call me a sheep or what ever you want. I believe in this team and I believe in Duds! I am a Thrashers fan win or lose..This year….We Win!
Jack
August 25th, 2010
1:52 pm
No worries was being a SA. Thrashers or bust. No doubt we will win!!!!!!!!
Mikey
August 25th, 2010
2:01 pm
Atlanta Chiefs – NASL champs, 1969
For The Record
August 25th, 2010
2:03 pm
Guess I missed all the fun…
I bought a bunch of tix to the Braves in the 80s. I remember when you could walk up on game day and sit 4 or 5 rows back behind home plate because there was a “gathering” instead of a crowd. By the time the 90s rolled around, I was just about done with them. I will forever regret watching the Sid Bream “trot” home late at night on TV instead of at Atlanta Ful-Co Stadium. Even though I saw them turning the corner, I still didn’t believe it because they were still “The Braves”.
Like Flames & others, I see the Thrashers turning the corner. There will be a defining moment for this franchise that people look back on years from now and say, “I was at that game and it was incredible!” You know it will come late in the year, but you never know exactly when. We’ll soon have a better idea if this is really the year…
And you do get a “return” when you go to a game. There were GREAT moments and a GREAT atmosphere during every game we went to last year (e.g. Bolton’s fight & Kovy after he scored his 2nd goal opening night; the rambunctious crowd for the 1st post-Kovy home game; Kane’s KO of Cooke and the win over the Pens to end the season). You can watch moments like that on TV…But it just isn’t the same as being there. Your return is the experience and the memory of it…
Zombie Steve
August 25th, 2010
2:10 pm
MAN – I wish I could’ve been there when Kane decked Cooke.
Jeff97
August 25th, 2010
2:12 pm
—-> For The Record — Gotta agree with you on that one. dont forget the two home playoff games. Sure we lost, but the atmosphere was so electric. the crowd noise was so loud at times it was deafening. Game 2 when Kovy scored to tie the game, remember that moment? remember how loud it was? Those are the things that you never forget. Those are the types of moments we hope and pray for with this team and it keeps us coming back as fans.
Flames
August 25th, 2010
2:13 pm
For the Record- Great post! The best part of going to the Thrashers games for me is that I experience it with my wife and three children. These are moments that they will remember forever….That my friend is PRICELESS!!!!
SomaAtl95
August 25th, 2010
2:13 pm
Zombie Steve – the rest of the league outside of the Pens wished they would have been there too! Last I checked that was supposed to win Hockeyfights.com’s “KO of the Year”
Jack
August 25th, 2010
2:20 pm
The way I see it is, we were less than 6 points away from playoffs last year. So lets say we were 3 wins away. A lucky puck here or there( or Pav not giving up one less handful of soft goals) and we are in the playoffs last year. With that said, I feel we are easily a better team already. At least a 10 game difference. Thus barring some stupid injuries we should have a 93.45% chance of making the playoffs. The %6.55 percent is chalked up as adjusting to Ramsay’s schemes.
For The Record
August 25th, 2010
2:32 pm
LOL…I’ve turned our youngest into a rabid Thrashers fan. He was in 1st grade (6) during last season. One day after they came home from school he was in the computer room and I heard him singing “Woo-Hoo!” to Song 2 by Blur. I went in and asked him what he was doing. He said, “I’m watching the highlights from the Thrashers game we went to Saturday night.” I said, “How did you find that?” He said, “I found it at the Thrashers website during our computer time at school today.” I almost fell over! I was a proud Dad…
After Kovy left, we took duct tape and put it over his name on my boy’s jersey and wrote FURY in black sharpie and he wore it to ever game for the rest of the year. There was a particularly obnoxious Pens fan sitting in front of us for the season finale. He was mouthing off every few seconds. After one time, my son had enough and leaned over and whispered to me, “Dad, can I yell ‘Penguins Suck’?” “Yes son…Yell it as loud as you can.” Once again, I was a proud Dad.
Flames
August 25th, 2010
2:39 pm
For The Record- I love it! That is what it’s really all about. We were at the Flyers game and my sons favorite player is Eric Boulton. Bolts was trying to fight # 13 Dan Carcillo and Carcillo didn’t want any part of Bolts. My son started yelling chicken. Then Bolts started flapping his arms like a chicken. My son couldn’t stop laughing.
Jack
August 25th, 2010
2:41 pm
Great story. There was only one Pens fan that was obnoxious? I thought they were all obnoxious, especially about there cry baby Crosby,(the G version of what I really feel about him
)
Jack
August 25th, 2010
2:43 pm
Bolts the man!!!!!!!!!!! Carcillo just another Avery wannabe
Thyme of Bluesland
August 25th, 2010
2:56 pm
Baaaaaaaaaa Baaaaaaaaa. Sheep! Don Waddell! Subsidize!
Jeff97
August 25th, 2010
3:00 pm
My wife and I have been taking our 3 year old to the games since he was 5 mos old. Even during the summer, he plays with his hockey guys and after scoring a goal I hear him saying “woo hoo” and “Thrashers on the Power Play”. My son is a diehard already and we were more than happy to have to buy that extra season ticket for him this year.
Two of his favorites are gone (Moose and Todd White, whom he got a stick from in practice) so I have been telling him about Big Buff..Its gonna be a fun season!
Jeff97
August 25th, 2010
3:04 pm
Can anyone post EJ Hradek’s Summer Skate for the Thrashers?
Sorry, I am just too cheap to spend $5 bucks a month to be an “Insider”
Need a Thrashers Hat
August 25th, 2010
3:24 pm
Do we know what brand of Thrashers hat/cap Chris Mason acquired (New Era, Reebok, etc.)?
Sage of Bluesland
August 25th, 2010
4:41 pm
“…For god sake this city has won only one Championship in it’s history. (Braves)…”
What bearing does this have on the current edition of the Atlanta Thrashers?! The Don-Waddell-led-Thrashers haven’t even won a playoff game in a decade’s worth of existence, either. That’s a stronger correlation for future performance than the former, that’s for sure…
“…I’m saying that this team will make the playoffs and represent this city well. …I was simple [sic] stating that teams that haven’t been around along time such as Tampa Bay, Carolina, Florida can and have won championships….”
Now that I understand–and partially agree with. Whether they make the playoffs or represent this city well is open to debate (the former especially).
I’m aware of these ‘nontraditional’ market-cities winning titles (whose teams are composed of players not from there–or anywhere close to these locales) and it makes me laugh at places like Toronto, who hasn’t won in a very long time…or even Buffalo, who hasn’t won the title at all.
The one thing these recent title-winners have had going for them is committed ownership and NOT having Don Waddell make their decisions.
We are saddled with both–BOTH–curses. Thus, the reason for the optimism should be muted…significantly.
Come on, let’s get real. I can only take so much sheep-shine here…Soon Gavalamb will be regurgitating that Donny hasn’t made a bad move yet, in his learned opinion (like a few years ago)…
I still can’t stop laughing about some things!
For The Record
August 25th, 2010
5:24 pm
Uh-oh Sage…The bi-polar is swinging the other way today. Don’t forget those meds!! Remember, you promised!
Next, take a look at all of the changes since season’s end, from coaching to personnel. You can’t seriously believe that Waddell is responsible for them. If you do, then go ahead and state for the record that you think Waddell – not Dudley – has rebuilt this team. Then if they’re wildly successful this year, you can publicly thank Waddell for his brilliant work! Right? But seriously, anyone who thinks Waddell is still in charge and making these moves just hasn’t been paying attention.
Flames, Jeff97 – I’m with you! The kids can always make a loss seem like it was a win. I grew up on the GA coast, just about as far away from an ice hockey rink as possible in the US. Taking my boys to the Thrashers games just makes it that much sweeter for me. Win or lose, the boys always do their fair share of shouting and cheering, and that makes it a good time!!
Brendan
August 25th, 2010
6:20 pm
Looking at Somaatl’s 11:44am post, I’m still amazed that the Florida Panthers ever reached a Stanley Cup Final. I remember that team, a little bit. I thought they were “okay,” but never imagined they’d be in the Finals in 1996. Huizenga owned the team then. His Marlins would win the World Series in 1997. Even an owner who builds up, then immediately dismantles … at least has pictures in the scrapbook with some trophies.
I think it’s “right” to be optimistic about the Thrashers this season. I think it could be a year where the casual hockey fan and casual sports fan might give the Thrashers a look. No, I don’t think they’re going to make the playoffs, but … for the first time in franchise history past the initial season or two, the philosophy will be a “team concept,” rather than Superstars trying to hit their marks. And for that, I say … we should reserve judgement until we see the product. I’m optimistic about this upcoming season. My team doesn’t have to make the playoffs to get my support. (But it should also be making a serious attempt at success, rather than treading water, with a league-minimum budget.) I still stand by my comment that we ought to know, by Thanksgiving (November), if we have a decent team or not. Don’t confuse that with “peaked” in November. No team in the NHL should “peak” in November. And if they do, they’re screwed. But we, here in Atlanta, do not have the luxury on relying on some .673 win percentage in March and April. We have to bank points in October and November to still be playing ‘meaningful games in March’ (Copyright, Don Waddell, 2002)
I can only hope that a trade, or two, are still coming for this season. I still say … it should be the Devils and Zajac.
Betting Hockey Coaching Club » College Football: 10 Week One Games With The Best Chances Of Upsets
August 25th, 2010
8:23 pm
[...] With new hat, Mason sets about settling in Thrashers goal The first thing Chris Mason did after signing with the Thrashers as a free agent was buy a piece of team merchandise. [...]
SomaAtl95
August 25th, 2010
11:30 pm
My 11:44 post was just my nice way of telling the troll what to do. Since I couldn’t outright say it and expect it to be on the blog I had to use parenthesis for my message and show that tool that over 1/3 of the NHL has yet to win the cup – I never thought I would prefer Sage over anyone on this blog, but as I said earlier at least Sage has a valid point in disliking the Thrashers.
Brendan
August 26th, 2010
12:23 pm
Brendan, whatever the concept is, “superstars,” “team play,” “super-defense,” “score one more than let in,” “tough as nails but not dumb as a sack of hammers,” “skill and speed,” etc, etc – the key for generating interest is to be competitive. If the crowd feels that the team plays to win and is really improving, you’ll have it. I know that the previous mantra about players almost getting the system down will only send fans running away in droves and screaming obscenities.
Midfield
August 26th, 2010
12:24 pm
Hey, sorry I’ve misidentified myself by mistake, Brendan. It was actually me here
Sage of Bluesland
August 26th, 2010
2:22 pm
…Now maybe I know who keeps impersonating me?…Hmmmm….
I wish the powers-that-be would do something about it (as my email address and ip address are there and legit)…
Midfield
August 26th, 2010
2:26 pm
No, you don’t. I won’t even be able to spell you ID. But I can suggest a glass of crisp cold water, whenever a surge of paranoia creeps up.
Brendan
August 26th, 2010
6:20 pm
No worries, Midfield. And, I think you are correct.