Jeff Mason

Jeff Mason
Mason in 2007
Born (1981-08-11) August 11, 1981 (age 43)
Easthampton, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for
NHL draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005–2018

Jeff Mason (born August 11, 1981) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and current associate coach for EIHL side Belfast Giants.

He was most recently the general manager and head coach of the Dundee Stars in the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL).

Career

Mason played college hockey at Providence College in Hockey East. In his senior season Mason earned three awards at the teams annual awards banquet. Mason, who was captain of the 2004-05 team, earned the Ron Wilson Best Defensive Player Award, the Friar Award and Plus/Minus Award. He led the team with a plus/minus rating of +9, marking the second time in his four years at Providence that he was first on the squad in that category. Mason also earned the award in his freshman season as well as receiving the Reverend Herman Schneider Award, which is given to the most valuable freshman.

After four years at Providence College, Mason attended NHL training camp with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He then began his professional hockey career with Hermes in the Finnish second division before returning to North America and signing with the ECHL's Augusta Lynx in 2005. The next season, he signed with the Long Beach Ice Dogs and was the team's highest scoring defenseman, scoring 11 goals and 31 assists for 42 points in what was a difficult season for the Ice Dogs as they finished bottom of the Pacific Division. Mason then spent the next two seasons playing for the Gwinnett Gladiators. In his second season in 2008-09, Mason scored 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points and was the team's top scoring defenseman. His 14 goals ranked second amongst ECHL defenseman.

In 2009-10, Mason split the season with the Kalamazoo Wings and in the German 2nd Bundesliga for the Heilbronner Falken. In 2010, Mason signed with the Belfast Giants of the United Kingdom's Elite Ice Hockey League. In 2011-12 Mason led the EIHL in Defenseman scoring with 19 goals and 41 assists for 60 points. Mason earned a First Team All-Star selection as well as being named the MVP Defenseman for the EIHL. The Giants won the Elite League title in 2011-12.

Mason joined Lillehammer IK in the Norwegian GET-ligaen for the 2012–13, but played just ten games before returning to the Giants for the remainder of the season and won the EIHL Championship for the second time with the Giants in 2013-14. In 2014-15 Mason tied for the team goal scoring lead amongst defenseman with 7 and was also voted the team's Best Defenseman. He remained with the Giants until his retirement after the 2017-18 season, during which the Giants won the Challenge Cup.

Mason ranks first all time in points by a Giants Defenceman and 6th overall for points scored in Giants history.

Coaching career

In August 2019, Mason was appointed an assistant coach with his former club Belfast Giants, joining the staff of head coach Adam Keefe.[1]

In May 2022, Mason was announced as the head coach and general manager of the Dundee Stars, replacing Omar Pacha.[2] However, Mason and the Stars parted company after just one season in April 2023.[3] Dundee missed the play-offs by four points, finishing in 10th.[4]

In May 2023, Mason returned to the Belfast Giants as an associate coach.[5]

Career statistics

Season Team League   Regular Season   Playoffs
GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2001–02 Providence College HE 34 1 9 10 10 -- -- -- -- --
2002–03 Providence College HE 21 1 7 8 10 -- -- -- -- --
2003–04 Providence College HE 33 4 2 6 10 -- -- -- -- --
2004–05 Providence College HE 37 0 6 6 20 -- -- -- -- --
2005–06 Hermes Mestis 13 2 2 4 6 -- -- -- -- --
2005–06 Augusta Lynx ECHL 46 4 4 8 12 -- -- -- -- --
2006–07 Long Beach Ice Dogs ECHL 71 11 31 42 62 -- -- -- -- --
2007–08 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 70 5 15 20 44 8 4 2 6 0
2008–09 Gwinnett Gladiators ECHL 71 14 22 36 26 3 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Kalamazoo Wings ECHL 36 7 16 23 6 -- -- -- -- --
2009–10 Heilbronner Falken 2.GBun 16 3 3 6 0 6 0 1 1 0
2010–11 Belfast Giants EIHL 43 11 20 31 36 3 1 0 1 0
2011–12 Belfast Giants EIHL 54 19 41 60 52 3 1 3 4 4
2012–13 Lillehammer IK Norway 10 2 2 4 0 -- -- -- -- --
2012–13 Belfast Giants EIHL 38 6 16 22 35 4 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Belfast Giants EIHL 47 7 19 26 18 4 0 2 2 0
2014–15 Belfast Giants EIHL 51 6 19 25 12 4 1 2 3 0
2015–16 Belfast Giants EIHL 38 2 5 7 10 -- -- -- -- --
2016–17 Belfast Giants EIHL 31 1 10 11 10 -- -- -- -- --
2017–18 Belfast Giants EIHL 33 0 12 12 8 2 0 0 0 0
ECHL Totals 287 41 88 129 144 11 4 2 6 0
EIHL Totals 335 52 142 194 181 20 3 7 10 4

Awards and honors

Award Year
EIHL First All-Star team 2011-12 [6]
EIHL MVP Defenseman 2011-12 [6]
EIHL League Champion 2011-12 [7]
EIHL League Champion 2013-14 [7]
EIHL Challenge Cup Champion 2017-18 [7]

Personal Life

Mason married Holly Sweeney in 2016. The pair had dated for several years and share a son together. Sweeney previously dated professional golfer Rory McIlroy before their public split in 2011.

References

  1. ^ "Mason & Smotherman Join Stewart As Assistant Coaches". Belfast Giants. August 12, 2019.
  2. ^ "Jeff Mason Joins the Dundee Stars as New Gm/Head Coach". Dundee Stars. May 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "Mason to depart Stars". April 3, 2023.
  4. ^ "Standings 2022/2023 Elite Ice Hockey League".
  5. ^ "Jeff Mason Completes Belfast Giants 2023/24 Coaching Lineup".
  6. ^ a b "ELITE Ice Hockey League ◊ Official Website AWARD WINNERS 2012 | ELITE Ice Hockey League". Archived from the original on March 5, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c "Jeff Mason at eliteprospects.com". www.eliteprospects.com.