If you’ve watched the New York Rangers nightly throughout this tumultuous season, you probably didn’t need a press release to tell you who embodied the spirit of the Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award. You could feel it. It was No. 50: Will Cuylle.
In a season full of highs, lows, and trades, Cuylle has been the one guy who never changed. Cuylle has brought energy every single shift. Yes, he has a career-high 18 goals and 39 points, but his impact goes beyond the scoresheet. You often see him blocking shots, finishing checks, getting to the net and paying the price, fighting, and dragging his boys into the fight through his fearlessness.
Steven McDonald was a hero who literally gave everything in the line of duty and then turned around and forgave the person who changed his life. That legacy of toughness with grace is something Cuylle, still just 23, wears that weight with honor. 278 hits — second-most in the entire NHL this season. Only a handful of players in the league deliver that kind of physical consistency without sacrificing offensive production. The Canadian's style is direct and effective: he plays a 200-foot game, finishes every check, battles for every puck, and sacrifices the body every shift.
Igor Shesterkin is still the backbone, and Vincent Trocheck’s been phenomenal as a locker room leader since the depature of captain Jacob Trouba who was traded to the Anaheim Ducks, and there are a few others you could make a solid case for. Yet for the bulk of Blueshirts nation, fans it was always Cuylle. He doesn’t just play for the name on the back of his jersey, he plays for the logo on the front, and that’s what the Steven McDonald Award is all about.
It’s only Cuylle's second full season. That alone is wild to think about. If this is what he brings now, we should be excited to see what kind of leader and tone-setter the 2020 2nd round pick (60th overall) becomes as he continues to grow. Cuylle didn’t just earn this award — he lived it.