Nick Paul's hockey season will continue this spring despite the fact that the Ottawa Senators season came to an end last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The 26-year-old former North Bay Battalion star has been invited to play for Team Canada at the 2021 IIHF Men's World Championships taking place in Latvia beginning on May 21.
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Paul finished an impressive 56-game season in the North Division with five goals and 15 assists for 20 points and finished a +5.
If you recall, Paul has had some international success with Team Canada. The Mississauga product won gold with Team Canada at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships where he finished with three goals including a tally in the gold medal game. He played with some high-profile linemates during that 2015 event including Connor McDavid and 2020 Stanley Cup winner Brayden Point.
That is not the only good news for Paul.
Earlier this week, the Ottawa chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) has announced Nick Paul as the team's nominee for the 2020-21 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy.
Paul, 26, has taken the long road to become a full-time NHLer, having cleared waivers three times during the course of his career. As recently as September of 2019, Paul was available to any NHL club that wanted to him - though he went unclaimed through the waiver process.
Since then, Paul has established himself as a regular in the Senators lineup under head coach and former Oshawa Generals bench boss D.J. Smith.
This season, Paul has been chosen as an alternate captain for multiple Ottawa Senators games. That honour perfectly illustrates how Paul has progressed from a marginal NHL player to an on-ice leader in the span of just 18 months.
