Oliver Kylington's admirable return earns him well-deserved Bill Masterton Trophy nod

Editor's note: This profile of Oliver Kylington was published before he was named a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

CALGARY — It has been happening before games, and even after whistles.

Opposing players approaching Oliver Kylington with words of support and an accompanying tap on the shin pads. 

A subtle, yet stirring, sign of respect and admiration for a man who returned to the game in January following a 20-month mental health battle.

“Some guys I don’t know, some guys I’ve played with,” said the Calgary Flames defenceman. 

“You get a stick tap and just hear they’re happy to see me back out there again. It's nice to hear.

“A thing like that, I never thought anyone would do that. 

“You feel love.

“It’s just nice to see that they see what I’ve done and appreciate what I’ve done for myself, but also maybe for others."

The support has been universal.

On Friday the Calgary chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association echoed the sentiment, naming Kylington the Flames nominee for the Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.

“Very honoured,” said the soft-spoken defenceman.

“I heard the people who’ve played for the Flames in the past who have been named and I’m just honoured to be on this list.

“Happy news.”

Kylington told Sportsnet he will share details of his hockey hiatus when the time is right, revealing only that the story behind his time away from the game is one of trauma and betrayal.

“At one point in time, I didn’t think I was going to be here,” he said upon his return to the team in late January.

“I felt lost.”

He’s since re-assimilated himself to the point he’s now playing upwards of 20 minutes a night and being counted on as one of the three remaining pillars of the Flames’ revamped blue line.

And he’s doing it with a renewed appreciation for the game, and life.

“I feel like I’ve just been appreciating very small stuff – stuff you maybe don’t think about,” said the 26-year-old Swede.

“I appreciate hanging out with people that I haven’t seen for a long time, and spending time competing with old teammates and new teammates and being back to an environment I’ve been away from for a long time.

“Just appreciative of life in general 

“You feel fortunate you can do something that you’ve been doing since you were a kid. You just appreciate being a professional athlete and being fortunate to play in this league. I’m just feeling humbled in general.”

A fan favourite throughout his career, Kylington has also been welcomed back by Calgarians en masse.   

“A lot of people have wanted to say it’s nice to see me back in town, and nice seeing me back on the ice, and happy overall having me back, and that they’ve missed me,” he said of interactions in the community.

“That’s nothing you can be prepared to even face, but I’ve been very thankful for that and I try to see it as thanking them back by playing as good hockey as I can.

“It’s been very nice.”

His return has been one of the feel-good stories of the year, making him one of the favourites to be part of the three finalists who will be whittled down from the 32 nominees at season’s end.

After all, his inspiring comeback can give hope to others struggling with mental issues.

“If my story can really help people I’m thankful and grateful, but if it doesn’t, it doesn’t,” he said.

“I don’t know if I’ve helped people, but I hope maybe that helps people to understand that there’s certain moments in life where there is adversity and that it’s okay to be in it and not flee from it and not do stuff to think it’s just going to vanish.

“It’s okay to not follow the norm really.

“We all are humans and we’re not going to be at our best at all times. It’s important to create a forum that people can be honest with each other and share how they feel.”

Seeking therapy helped him do that.

“I was raised in a generation where you just compress everything, you don’t talk about stuff, you just march forward,” he added.

“My experience was unfortunately where I had to deal with a very narcissistic person, so I learned how to suppress and shelf stuff away. And when you do that for too long it will come at you and come hunt you.

“I learned you can’t run away from your problems.”

Recent Flames nominees have included Mikael Backlund, Chris Tanev and Mark Giordano. Two Flames have won the award, including Lanny McDonald in 1982-83 and Gary Roberts in 1995-96.

Kylington's return makes him Bill Masterton lock