Mason Evan Raymond (born September 17, 1985) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played as a winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames and the Anaheim Ducks. Internationally, he represented Canada, and has won a bronze medal with them in the 2018 Winter Olympics.
Born in Cochrane, Alberta, but growing up in Calgary, Alberta, he played Junior A in the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) for two seasons, where he captured league and regional titles with the Camrose Kodiaks, while also being named league MVP in 2005. He then joined the college ranks with the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) for a two-year tenure there, as well. He earned WCHA All-Rookie honours in 2006, WCHA First Team All-Star honours in 2007, and was also named the Bulldogs' most valuable player in 2007. Raymond was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2005 NHL entry draft in the second round, 51st overall.
After spending parts of two seasons with their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Manitoba Moose, he joined the club full-time in 2007–08. He is known as a fast-skating offensive player.
After playing AAA midget with the Strathmore Bisons of the Foothills Bisons Hockey Association, Raymond began a two-year Junior A career with the Camrose Kodiaks of the AJHL in 2003–04. Raymond had been hesitant about pursuing his career due to a lack of interest from major junior teams, but his friend Dan Bertram encouraged him to play with him in Camrose. Bertram also played midget with Raymond and went on to be a Chicago Blackhawks draft pick, three selections after him.
Raymond posted a team-high 27 goals and 62 points as a rookie, including six game winning goals. Following his first junior season, Raymond was recruited by the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs of the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA). Having earned an athletic scholarship, he had the choice of playing one more season with Camrose or to make the jump to the college ranks. He consulted with Kodiaks head coach Boris Rybalka and was challenged to improve at the Junior A level before moving to Minnesota-Duluth. As a result, Raymond remained in Camrose, signing a letter of intent in November 2004 to join the Minnesota-Duluth the following year for the 2005–06 season. Several other National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools had recruited Raymond as well, including the University of Denver, Western Michigan University and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. He chose the Bulldogs because he knew that, with 11 seniors leaving their team the following season, he would have the biggest role with that club.
Raymond went on to lead the AJHL in scoring with 41 goals and was named league MVP in 2004–05. He added 20 points in 15 post-season games as the Kodiaks captured the Rogers Wireless Cup as league champions to advance to the 2005 Doyle Cup, Canada's Pacific Junior A regional championship. During the competition, Raymond was hospitalized with fatigue and dehydration that decreased his weight to 150 pounds. Though he missed the final against the British Columbia Hockey League's Surrey Eagles, the Kodiaks won without him and advanced to the 2005 Royal Bank Cup, Canada's national Junior A tournament. Raymond returned to action as the Kodiaks advanced to the national level at the 2005 Royal Bank Cup. He led the tournament in scoring with 10 points (4 goals and 6 assists) over 5 games as Camrose finished as runner-up to the tournament host Weyburn Red Wings of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The Kodiaks later retired Raymond's number 9 prior to their season-opening game against the Okotoks Oilers on September 10, 2010.
Raymond was selected in the 2005 NHL entry draft by the Vancouver Canucks in the second round, 51st overall. He was draft-eligible in 2004, but opted out due to his low ranking at the time. He was scouted by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis as a fast skater with the puck who needed to work on his strength.
Following his draft, he joined the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs. Scoring 11 goals and 28 points over 40 games, he was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team for the 2005–06 season. In his sophomore campaign, Raymond led the Bulldogs in scoring with 14 goals, 32 assists and 46 points. Raymond's points total was good for second in league scoring behind Jonathan Toews. He received WCHA Player of the Week honours twice and was awarded the Mike Seiler Award, as the Bulldogs' Most Valuable Player. His college career ended after the Bulldogs were eliminated by the St. Cloud State Huskies in the second round of the WCHA playoffs.
Raymond chose to forgo his final two years of college eligibility to turn professional and signed an amateur tryout contract with the Canucks' minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose of the AHL. He scored his first AHL goal in his debut with the Moose on March 23, 2007. The goal was the game winner against goaltender Stefan Liv with four minutes remaining in a 3–2 victory against the Grand Rapids Griffins. Following his second AHL game, the Canucks signed him to an NHL contract. He completed his 11-game regular season in the AHL with two goals and two assists. In the subsequent 2007 playoffs, he added an assist in 13 games, as the Moose were eliminated by the Hamilton Bulldogs in the second round.
The following season, Raymond made the Canucks' roster out of training camp and made his NHL debut on the team's top line with Henrik and Daniel Sedin. He picked up his first NHL point, an assist on a Brendan Morrison goal, in the season-opener against the San Jose Sharks on October 5, 2007. Soon thereafter, he was sent down to the Moose for a two-day assignment after having been a healthy scratch. He returned to the Canucks on October 18, and was later returned to the Moose at the end of the month for a longer assignment. Succeeding at the AHL level, Raymond recorded a five-point game with a hat trick and two assists during a match against the Rochester Americans on November 21, 2007. The Canucks recalled him the following month on December 11 following injuries to forwards Brendan Morrison and Brad Isbister. The next day, he scored his first NHL goal in his first game back against goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère of the Anaheim Ducks. The goal came assisted on a one-timer pass from Moose teammate Jason Jaffray, who had been called up from Manitoba the same day as Raymond. Later that game, he also assisted Jaffray's first NHL goal in the third period. The Canucks went on to win the game, 3–2. Known for his skating ability, Raymond won the fastest skater segment of the Canucks' 2008 SuperSkills Competition with a time of 14.283 seconds. A week later, he was reassigned to the Moose one last time on January 13, 2008, for three days, before remaining with the Canucks. On March 17, he suffered an injury after a knee-on-knee collision with defenceman Keith Ballard in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes, sidelining him for the final eight games of the season. He finished his rookie NHL campaign with 21 points in 49 games with the Canucks, while also recording seven goals and 17 points in 20 games with the Moose.
Raymond had a quick start to 2008–09, scoring 10 points in his first 13 games, but trailed off to add just 13 points for the remainder of the campaign. Midway through the season, he was named to the 2009 YoungStars Game in Montreal, helping the sophomores beat the rookie team 9–5. He finished his second NHL season with 11 goals and 12 assists in 72 games. In the ensuing 2009 playoffs, where the Canucks entered as the third seed in the Western Conference. After the Canucks would sweep the sixth-seeded St. Louis Blues in the opening round, Raymond scored his first NHL post-season goal in game three of the second round against the Chicago Blackhawks on Blackhawks' goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, a 3–1 win for the Canucks. Vancouver went on to be eliminated by the fourth-seeded Blackhawks in six games. Raymond finished with two goals and an assist in all 10 post-season contests.