Avalanche top-pair defenseman Ryan Graves is the Colorado winner and national nominee for Bill Masterton Trophy, given annually to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.
Graves, 25, is in his first full season with the Avalanche, and second overall. He was acquired in a trade of two underperforming young defensemen in February 2018, with Chris Bigras going to the New York Rangers in the exchange. Graves, 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, made his NHL debut as a part-timer with Colorado last season and signed a modest, one-year, two-way contract extension worth $735,000/$350,000 last summer.